> Ok, but that will generally only tell them if the colony has some number
> of phoretic mites which is more a function of the infestation level and how
> many frames of capped brood there are.
>

Agree. What I am looking for is a general idea of the state of the hive. I
have a good idea of the bee population, the probable  mite level at that
time of year (per Randy's nice graph) hence what to expect and if
treatments are required. In essence that is why others do alcohol washes. I
just use OAV becasue it is easier and serves a dual purpose. Plus, I ran my
own trial on how long to leave the mite tray in the hive and found that 24
hours was fine for planning what to do.

I am not looking for any exact number since mite levels can obviously vary,
but the OAV method approximates nicely with an alcohol wash- which can also
give inexact results.

Not rocket science. All you need do is listen to all the different mite
numbers used to determine when to treat. Gloriously all over the map. But
variable because of what I also use which is what to expect at that time of
year.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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