> The important thing, to me, is to monitor mite levels by whatever method
 > works consistently for you. The mites will let you know if you are 
successful.

Agreed.  No one method is ideal for everyone, or under all conditions.  
I like
the drops because they are non-invasive, non-destructive and give a good
indication of the progress of an infestation without killing bees. 
Jean-Pierre
Chapleau did an excellent investigation of using drops in conjunction with
formic acid for varroa control.

(With all the focus on one proprietary formic product on this list 
lately, I hope
that non-US readers will remember that the original, cheapest and most
flexible way of applying formic outside the US is not by using a proprietary
product, but by simply obtaining formic and pads and making an appropriate
treatment from them.  Mitegone Bill assures us that doing so is legal in 
the US
also, but with the patchwork of regulations in the US, it is hard to 
say. State
and local bee authorities should know what the rules are and how assiduously
they are enforced ).

Drops do require extra equipment, though, and are no faster than washes or
rolls unless the hives are full of honey and the brood is under four 
full supers
and an excluder.  Once the hive is set up for drops, though, counts can 
be quite
quick unless -- as in my case -- accurate counts are sought for study 
purposes.
For most beekeepers, a quick scan of a set of boards from a yard -- under
proper lighting and with magnification or without -- will tell all that 
needs to
be known.

I did some washes yesterday to compare to drops and sugar rolls and when I
was done,  I counted the plies of dead bees.  To test only three hives, 
I killed
almost 1,000 bees.  That screams against my nature and my purpose in
keeping bees, so I am biased against doing more than the minimum number of
such tests and mostly use them for calibrating other monitoring methods

In that regard, I am still unsure of the sugar roll.  Maybe I am not 
doing them
properly yet.  In spite of what Gary said at a New York meeting, I am 
not getting
similar results to what washes turn up.  No matter what method is used,
there are subtle tricks that need to be learned and maybe I am not there 
yet.
If I even got a constant percentage of what washes reveal from sugar 
rolls, I
would find them acceptable, but so far, I am not finding a constant ratio.

No matter what method is used to monitor, there is potential for large 
errors
if that method is not used properly or consistently.  Moreover the results
from different operators may not be comparable due to differences in
application of the instructions.

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