what an excelent reasoning and better questions, in itself and in the form.
and what an excelent reply. Totally interprets my observations.

I will add

Been in complete agreement with Dick experience, I perseveer with no
treatment till this year swarming season when I lost a huge swarm of the
best early spring performer and last queen of this 8 years effort. What a
pitty.

They left a colony with a cell. Now treating this hive with monoxalate
basically because by late november 2015 I used that colony (when there were
two of them left) for a sort of experiment and this next spring it swarmed.
One year without treatment but I never took those strips out. They were
still there when I inspected it after swarming.

I detail this experience in english here http://apiaraucania.blogspot.
cl/2015/11/how-do-dead-varroa-looks-like.html and I think I posted here a
request for help at that time.

Now I am totally sure this monoxalate strip work and with the help of Cam I
will be able to know what is a blue shop towel to give it a hand to Randy's
efforts. http://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-dribble-tips/

I would love to have something even cheaper, while now the cost of 1
"sintetic" or comercially made treatment cost 4 times a locally made
monoxalate strip treatment but with my current schedule I have to go twice.
I repeat after 15 days, changing for 4x2 new strips. 4x2 because I fold
each and hanging it from a frame, so actually for bees one "double strip"
cover two roads.

Check my reply to Cam http://apiaraucania.blogspot.
cl/2017/01/reply-to-cam.html

No excuse now to have varroa above a given threshold. Since november 2015 I
have used monoxalate for ALL our hives, we have cured varroa twice per
year. winter/Spring and Summer/Autum, while we add - just because we had
them - one formic acid treatment instead a monoxalate one first Summer/Autum

Autum: May 2016 after Ulmo we cured with formic Biotab, winter/Spring:
august to november 2016 depending on apiary monitoring numbers  and this
January 2017  we are treating again because of threshold (9 varroas in 300
bees) however we changed nutrition schedule (from 1 kg post harvesting to
250 grs per week during flow 4x totalling the same kilo, will give 250 up
to 500 more grams after (cross my fingers) next harvest.

So we have build varroa faster because we have much more brood because of
feeding schedule. Less honey? I really do not know because it is a horrible
season for everyone. Previous time I have done this we measure a 5%
decrease in honey production but colony didn't end as big as this ones.

Our new Panapi formula I think is better aminoacid balanced.


Now going back to viruses use bleach to get of viruses faster. I will see
if I have time to write a proper post in english, this was in spanish
http://apiaraucania.blogspot.cl/2007/09/cloro-para-la-colmena.html

cheers


PS: Chile is just a big fire. Lots of colonies burnt. Evaluating size of
damage and working ways to help. Our bees still out of danger but another
very bad honey production season. Enough pollen but no nectar. Flash bloom
and then long spells of rain/bad weather when they have eaten what they
have gather. In general all blooms have happend at least 15 to 20 days
ahead previous years. No Tiaca for I think fifth consecutive year. Still
hoping for some Ulmo on my holliday return. We have had done all we can do.

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