>
> >We assume that what we learn from alcohol washes is meaningful in terms of
> providing us with information that can be predictive or assist us in
> management.  What they give is the number of adult varroa mites on bees in
> the hive.  We need more info to interpret that: time of year, amount of
> brood, etc. etc..


Allen, I am surprised to see as many callow (light-colored) mites in some
alcohol washes as I do.  This shows that female mites do not need to be
fully sclerotized  in order to hitchhike on adult bees.

In answer to your question above, Dr. Spivak's student, Katie Lee, will soon
be publishing a massive amount of data that she painstakingly assembled from
samples from numberous hives, of mites on bees, in brood, etc.  This is the
info from Gary Reuter that was mentioned a few days ago on the List.

The gist is that her data support the mite wash or sugar shake as the most
accurate practical determinant of colony mite levels.  She has determined
constants with which to multiple the sample percent in order to approximate
the entire colony mite count.

Randy Oliver

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