Re brood break in winter.  Depending upon your latitude, there may be a
complete brood break in November, typically restarting in December at a low
level.

Depending upon your late summer forage situation, there may be a complete
brood break in August or Sept (this occurred in my home yard this season
due to the intense drought).

Re the impact of the brood break in nucs started with queen cells, I can
think of a few mechanisms that favor the bee over the mite:


   1. No mite reproduction for roughly 10-12 days.
   2. Increased exposure of the mites to grooming during that period of
   time.
   3. No drone brood production until the nuc grows in size--thus an
   initially lower rate of mite reproduction.
   4. Accelerated egglaying by the new queen--bees outrun the mites.
   5. Possible break in virus transmission.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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