This is taken from a March 26, 1996 news release from the U.S.
   Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Seattle office (206) 553 4768.
 
   "Penalties of $ 5,400 are being sought from a Washington state firm that
   invited beekeepers from around the country to buy a pesticide that had
   not been registered with the EPA, as required by federal law."
   ...
   "a Dec 1995 sale and January advertisement (of the product) occurred
   despite an EPA warning last May to cease selling Mite Solution, and to
   submit the product to EPA for registration".
 
   So, consider it an illegal, unregistered product of unknown safety,
   which has had no testing to indicate its effect on mites or bees.
 
 
   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
   INTERNET [log in to unmask]
 
   Regarding not finding your queen:
 
   In most cases it is unnecessary to actually see the queen. If you can
   see patches of white brood, the queen has been there within a week.
   If you see patches of eggs, the queen has been there within 3 days.
   It's easiest to find a queen when the colony is small and compact. Open
   the hive gently, remove an ouside frame to let yourself remove occupied
   frames easily, then remove and examine frames from one side to the
   other, leaving the empty space between the 2 groups of frames.
 
   The queen is most likely to be on a frame with eggs. She moves
   differently from the other bees, and has a larger abdomen, often with
   less stripeing than her workers. Yellower queens are easier to see than
   darker ones.
 
   Again, if you can't see her but normal brood or eggs are present, don't
   worry. There are only a few operations for which it is necessary to find
   her.