Hell-o Bee Folk,
   I have been reading the post about the wire mesh floors to aid in
getting rid of the mites that fall off. Sounds like a good idea but I am
not sure that it goes far enough. We have the mites out of the hives
then what?
   The mite that we are all fighting is like the tick we find on
reptiles, birds, and mammals. (I don't want to split hairs over the
family the mite falls into) They find a host, suck blood, get fat, and
fall off breed and so it goes.
   Ticks and other insects can stick around for a long time without a
host and just wait for the chance to get on to another blood supply.
Unless we have something beneath the hives, to kill or trap the mite,
what is going to prevent them from working their way back up into the
hives? We need to kill them not just get them out of the hives.
   How long can these mites live without a host? Will they latch onto
some other insect, bird, or animal and be spread outside of the hive?
Getting into the ecosystem  and hurting other benificial insects?
   We have a very large Bumble Bee population here in this area of
Pennsylvania. Last summer the ratio of Bumble Bees to Honey Bees had to
be a least 50 - 1. Never saw so many Bumble Bees before. Will this mite
live on the Bumble Bee. I know the life and nesting habits of the Bumble
Bee is different than that of the Honey Bee; is there a chance of a
cross over from one to the other? I would hate to see a booming
population of one  brought down by the plauge of another. It is not
uncommon to see two or three different type bees on a plant along with
the Honey Bee.
   So far I have just asked questions and offered nothing in the way of
ideas. So here are a few thoughts.
   Unless your hives are supported on just the four corners, and not on
pallets as mine are the system will not work. The mites must be able to
fall directly from the hive to be destroyed. I suggest a removable pan
or tray be placed under the hive, it covered with hardware cloth, and
holding water, checked and removed daily.
   There should also be a way of getting most of the mites in one shot.
To that end I am going to try something I came across on a web page the
other day. I can't recall what page at this time but I will look it up
and post it if any are intrerested in reading what I did.
   What I read was a report about different methods being tried to get
the mites off the bee and out of the hive. Different plants were being
used to test which works best. Some of the plants did little or nothing
others had varing sucess. A few worked great on getting the mites off
the bees and dead. They also had very bad results on the bees. The one
plant that seems to hold the best potential is the leaf of the
"Grapefruit".
  The report stated that; with just a one minute smoking 90 - 100% of
the mites fell off of the bees. The smoke did not kill the mites. Key
point: There did not appear to be any ill effect on the Honey Bee in
this test with the dried grapefruit leaves as the source of smoke.
  My plan: I will build the open wire floor bottom boards and smoke with
the leaves of the grapefruit plant. I will repeat the smoking for a two
to three weeks period, twice a week. That should get any mites that were
closed up in cells at the first smoking. If I notice any strange
behaviour in the hive I will stop the smoking.
  Where do I get "Grapefruit Leaves in Pensylvania in winter? From a
Grapefruit. Buy a grapefruit at your local produce store. Not the pink
seedless type. Take the seeds from the grapefruit and set them in a
flower pot. They will grow. I plan on starting as many as I can. If you
start now, mid winter here in Pa. You will be able to set the plants
outdoors come spring and have a fair size tree with many leaves on
them.No, no grapefruits. You can pull a few leaves every once in awhile
and let them dry. You will then have a regular steady supply of leaves.
Also these leaves will not have been sprayed with any chemiclas that may
be injurous to the bees.
   That's it. Not much else to do here in the cold, so I figured I would
see what ideas others have and what plans are out there for the upcoming
season.
 
Thank You for Your time.
 
Gary C. Lewis
Duke Center, Pa.
USA>