Mark asked:

> I am planning on medicating this fall for
> nosema (fumidil)
> foulbrood (terramyacin)
> mites (apistan)

Someone has to ask the obvious question - have you tested and
found that you actually have any/all of these problems, or are you
perhaps treating for pests/diseases without justification?

A handy document to use in identifying diseases and pests
is this one, freely available in pdf form or available by mail for
those without a color printer.  A very nice set of clear color
photos.

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/uf013.html

The Bee-L archives
http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l&D=0
can also be a big help in finding diagnostic techniques, but
you likely have to search for one problem at a time.

        jim