Hi Everyone,

Lennard asked:
"Does anyone know a reference to detection of tracheal mites in frozen
bees
or a general crushing/washing method?"

You can simply slice the frozen bees and clear the thoraxic disks in KOH
solution as per the standard method.  The frozen bees are easy to slice
and we used to freeze them instead of preserving them in alcohol partly
because they were easier to slice frozen.  If you have not done the
slicing before, first pull off the head and first pair of legs and then
you can easily see to slice off the front part of the thorax where the
main tracheal trunks are.

Hope this helps.

blane




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Blane White
MN Dept of Agriculture
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