>>Why did I screw up this past season?

>You are still  "screwing up"  in that you are principally blaming the mites
>rather than what they  carried

That is an interesting assumption.  Actually, as I mentioned previously,  I do in fact 
assume it is what they carried, and also that there is nothing I can do about that 
except limit the vectors, namely the mites.  Both types of mites.

Varroa mites alone do not kill at the levels I observed, but we have found that 
lowering mite thresholds below what used to acceptable when mites alone were 
the issue has seemed -- thus far -- to reduce losses to the normal range.

>>since the hives were of many strains From several sources I assume?

Yes, and I assume that something new came in this year with them.

>In this case, the problem is Globalization, and it is almost impossable 
>to avoid these effects, unless you want to live like the uni-bomber, 
>back in the deep woods and be a hermit

Yes, we get the good and the bad.  Seemingly, the immediate good outweighs the 
immediate bad, but nobody ever knows.

>Previous outbreaks were probably self limiting and it did not become wide-spread.

I've had whole yards die before and so have most commercial beekeepers, so this 
may or may not be unique.  Most of these events seem to die out of their own 
accord, but there is always a first time.

>If you (or Dennis) wish to prove that it is something "new", then
>take the worst contaminated box and put it close (1 m) to a thriving ANT colony
>Observe for 4-5 months. That will "blow your mind"

You are asuming that whatever I have is whatever you have, and who knows?

I'll have to watch for your 'leg rub', and if I see any thriving ant colonies, I'll keep
your suggestion in mind.  Thriving ant colonies are in short supply around here 
right now.

Well, we'll see what happens when I use some of this equipment on supposedly 
healthy hives I am bringing in from outside.

Who knows?  Maybe I'll be dosing with vitamin C before long and doing ramp tests.

We'll C.

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