>From: "L.&J. Christensen" <[log in to unmask]>
>Date:         Fri, 15 Aug 1997 15:28:02 -0700
>Subject:      Re: Geez.... what was that?
 
>> A little red critter looking like a mobile red dot on the back of a
>> bee.
 
>   I believe there is another little red critter that crawls
>around on the bees called "bee louse".
>  In my opinion before you get too excited about treatments find out
>for sure what you're dealing with.
 
The so called "bee louse" is very rare pest in California, I have seen
only one since 1954 and that was attacked firmly to the bee and did not
catch my eye because of the color, only its size. May be more common in
the east?
 
The Varroa mites seem to be light sensitive and harder to find in
the early stages of building populations. As they build up numbers one
is more likely to see them scampering for cover if you see them at all
until they reach high numbers and can be found in most drone brood in
the warmest areas of the hive and between brood supers if more then one
is used. In advanced stages of build up the bees almost seem to give up
trying to rid themselves of them and the mites seem to become bolder
riding out in full view on the field bees. They are little red pin head
sized blood suckers that once seen, never forgotten. It is fun to watch
for them in nature beekeeping flicks shown on TV,..you can date the age
of the bee pics by the lack of them. They were showing up in films
shot in Germany and shown here before most realized they were a
problem.<G>
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
 
 
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 ~ QMPro 1.53 ~ ... And where the bee with cowslip bells was wrestling.