Matthew said:
  So I'll leave my apiary where they sit until we have better tools (on the
market!) to ensure their survival.  (fungus in late fall???).   I'm sure I'm
not alone with that thinking.

Matthew has made an excellent point and perhaps the main concern of Midwest
beekeepers.

Matthew said:
With our greatest honey season in 10(+, perhaps ever) everything worked
perfectly for those mites to take down bursting '3-deeps in brood' hives
within a couple months.  I haven't seen that kind of devastation since
~'95/'96.

 I have talked about these super mites before on Bee-L. They are not a
figment of beekeepers imaginations researchers! Until you experience these
varroa first hand you have a hard time understanding. I have! Researchers
are reacting slow to our claims but I have seen these varroa all summer.
They came into Missouri (my opinion) from California Almond pollination.
They are in my partners yards but he bought a wrecked load of Texas bees and
several other operations out so hard to tell exactly the source.

 Through my extensive testing these varroa are NOT in my yards so far.

In his yards Apistan, checkmite and ApiLife var did not control these
varroa. Purvis Brothers survivor queens and  the Russian bees did in many
cases turn the situation around but reinfestation from crashing hives was a
big problem.

My opinion:
I believe these super mites were created by beekeepers using illegal
treatments  which were ineffective.

Bob

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::