>Al Lipscomb wrote: " ... I belive that the male Varrola mite never
>leaves the cell he is born in."
 
Aaron Morris replied:
 
>I had not thought about this until Al's posting, but he is correct.  The
>male varroa mite hatches, mates with his sisters and dies in the cell,
>never emerging.  So there is no room for control of varroa mites by
>sterilization.  This also explains why the free condom method isn't
>working.
 
OK so the free condom and vasecotomy method will not work on male Varroa
since they are protected within the cell.  :)
 
Does this mean that all the mites visible on bees or dead on the landing
boards from Apistan are female mites?  Can we sterilize these with a "tubal
ligation" method?
 
Is there a web resource for a explanation of varroa life cycle?
 
 
 
Paul Cronshaw, D.C.
Hobbyist Beekeeper
Santa Barbara, CA  USA