Pete,

Mite fall does depend on hive population/hosts for mites as much as mite
load. That's why I took pre-treatment drops to see what was dropping. Even
though the per hive drops varied widely, among the groups to which I
assigned treatments, the pre-treatment drops were virtually identical on
average. Then comparing the average drops post treatment showed treatment
effects. Not statistically significant, but a 1 in 4 chance that the effect
I saw was by chance.

A small jar of bees as representative of the whole population makes me
nervous. Even if I collect from the same place in the hive at the same time
of day, did I happen to get 100 bees that were mostly foragers? Or nurse
bees, or sick bees? I'd rather look at nearly all the mites which dropped
from inside the hive over a period of time.

Kristina, you're right. One thing I should do different next time: pull and
replace the boards multiple times and monitor for a longer period to see
the difference between a rapidly working treatment like hopguard or formic
versus the slow but longer working effect with apivar and other products
meant to be left in for two brood cycles.

Tim
eastern WA

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