Allen
 
   Drone tracheal trunks are accepted by tracheal mites as homes. The tubes
   are more spacious and a  lot of mites can be accomodated. Drone thorax
   sections are easy to view (by a bee examiner).
 
   It would seem that the longer life of drones might make them fertile
   ground for raising tracheal mites, however I've not seen any report of
   that. Also, I don't know if the usual "younger the more attractive" rule
   applies to drones (it does to queens).
 
   There has been contradictory evidence of colony  mite prevalence for
   drones vs workers (some report higher, some lower).
   I'd expect that the prevalence in drones collected from a colony, is
   more a reflection of the average mite prevalence in the colonies of a
   whole apiary (which drift to various colonies), rather than the
   prevalence in the particular colony.
 
   regards
 
   Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist
   B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
   1201 103 Ave
   Dawson Creek B.C.
        V1G 4J2  CANADA          Tel (604) 784-2225     fax (604) 784-2299
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