>
> >Even if half that 6% were non-viable mites emerging during the six days,
> that
> would still require a daily natural drop of around 3% of the total mite
> population.
> That seems high to me under most conditions.  What am I missing?


What I was saying that the 1-hr dusting drop equalled the natural drop that
I had counted for the previous 6 days.  It was merely an observation of the
data, not theoretical.  But let's do the math to see whether it was a
fluke.

Say that there are 100 total mites in the hive, 2/3 in the brood (although
likely half at some times of the season).
So 33 are phoretic.  If dusting causes 34% of these to drop, then about 11
would drop.

Let's compare that figure to see if it would equal the expected natural drop
for 6 days:

 If 2/3 of the mites are in the brood, that makes 67 of the hundred in the
brood.  They will all emerge within 12 days, so about 6 would be emerging
per day.  If 50% of those drop naturally, that is about 3 per day.

So we are in the same ballpark.  Does that help?

 Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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