>I had been told of a simple test for varroa that involved putting a
>number of bees in a glass jar, spraying with ether (starting fluid for
>diesel engines) and shaking.  If varroa were to be found they would be
>seen sticking on the sides of the glass jar.  Is this a valid way for a
>definite test to see if your hives have these "critters"? How many bees
>do you need to sacrifice?  Also do you use older foraging bees from the
>front of the hive or would it be better to use young ones still working
>on the brood comb?
>
>Brett D. Bannon
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Yes, it's a fairly good test. 200 - 300 bees should used, not too much
ether and shake for 1 to 2 minutes and then slowly roll.  Bees should be
collected from brood area as Vj will hitch hike on nurse bees the most so
as to prepare to re-enter another brood cell.  If done in a consistant
manner, this test can be used to calculate mite-load levels and therefore
urgency of treatment.
 
To do this one must "judge" colony population, percentage of bees used in
test and be mindfull that 20% mites are "exposed" (not hidden in brood) at
any given time.  Example: 300 bees in test of  a colony having 60,000 bees
and showing 5 mites in test would indicate a mite load of 5,000 mites.
That's 5 X5 = 25 (for the 20% factor) multiplied by 200 (because 300 is
1/200th of the total population) = 5000.  This is probably biased a little
as the sample is taken from nurse bees and not the general population but,
if used consistantly, it should give a fairly clear picture of mite load.
 
Hope this was helpful,
Ed Levi