On Mon, 22 Jul 1996, James C. King wrote:
 
I just went thru my 140 colonies in eastern PA and found 7 drone layers.
This is far more of this kind of thing that I can remember.
> no mites in several ether rolls and a few had one mite in several ether
> rolls) and no tracheal mites.
>
        Be careful about discounting tracheal mites. Sometimes a negative
lab report can fool you. The colony condition, the time of
the year and where the sample was drawn can affect the results. You may
want to sample again later in the year.