Hi Bill,
If there was such a need to use Checkmite, you have by your own admission never used it, then how come you still have bees? 
It is the responsibilty of the USDA and the chemical companies to make sure that products on the market conform to certain standards and that they are not harmful to consumers, users and that the effects on animals/plants being treated are not detrimental.  It is also their responsibilty to make sure that the users understands the risks (if any) and side effects to himself and his animals/plants.  As they have known about the problem for years and have neglected to inform users about possible side-effects, surely they are at fault.  Do Checkmite packs now carry a warning?  I haven't seen one for a while, if they don't, then don't you think that they should, so that potential users can assess the risk and use alternative methods at least for the colonies that will be used in queen rearing operations?  For my own operation I can say that it cost me A LOT in cash by lost production of queens and a lot of time and extra work to finally determine where the problem came from.  Believe me that there is nothing  quite as bad as having whole batches of queen cells go wrong and the knock effect of not being able to fill orders, bad feeling with customers etc. etc. 
Let's take the story back some years to 1983 when Greek and Cypriot beekeepers became the first beekeepers in the world to start using Asundol (a.i. coumaphos) to control Varroa.  Bayer go to know about this and immediately withdrew all Asundol in Greece from the market (it has since been quietly taken off the market in many other European countries) only to re-issue it again under the name of Perizin at a price that was 20 times higher than Asundol.  The reason we are told was the research and development cost involved, well I suppose if you believe that, then you'll believe anything, I prefer to use the word "greed".  The USDA and Bayer knew that Varroa would become resistant to Apistan and should have commenced testing Checkmite properly before it became necessary to get a Section 18 issued.  Why is Checkmite so expensive?  Because of R&D?  If so, then it hasn't been carried out properly and someone is at fault.

Best regards
Roger White
Superbee Cyprus.

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