Bob writes:
Some of those beekeepers this year had their hives started from
  packages last spring die in late fall due to a high infestation of varroa on
  arrival due to failures of a few (not all) packages sellers varroa control
  programs failing (reported at our bee assn. meeting by several ).

I would like to hear a little more about this. I had one yard of 24
new (2002) packages. No other colonies in the yard. By mid-summer the
mite count was still low, 0 to 2 mites in an ether roll of about 250
bees.

By fall they were full of mites. Of course, we treated. But I wonder
which is more likely: 1) they had many mites upon arrival, or 2) they
picked them up after they got here?

Other 2002 packages that were put in yards with over-wintered
colonies had many times more mites than those in the isolated yard,
and some crashed before they could be treated in September.

--

Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>

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