Hi Aaron and All:
 
Well I certainly showed my ignorance of the varroa life cycle.  I guess
since we still do not have the mites here I have not done as much reading as
I should have.  However, I still do not understand this:
 
>Actually, this is not logically correct - drone trapping should not
>select for mites that prefer worker brood, and here's why.  At the time
>when one employs the drone trapping method there is plenty of drone
>brood available to accommodate (play host to) all the varroa within a
>hive.  It is not until late in the season when there is not enough
>drone brood to go around that varroa migrate to worker brood.
 
Sure there is plenty of drone brood when one is trapping.  But one is
removing and killing the mite progeny from mites which have chosen drone
cells to lay in.  But mites which have chosen worker cells to lay in will be
successfull.  Therefore there is an advantage to mites laying in worker
cells and this method will select for that characteristic.
 
I have read your post several times Aaron, and forgive me but I just cannot
understand what the relative amounts of type of brood have to do with the
success of mites laying in worker cells EARLY in the season.  The fact that
mites change to worker brood LATE in the season when drone cells are scarce
has no bearing on the fact that mites laying in worker brood early on will
be more successful if one is drone trapping at that time.
 
I do not get ABJ, so I am afraid I can not reference the article.
 
So I remain a puzzled,  Stan