Hi;
 
I'm sorry that this discuss has taken such a nasty turn and become a
bother to the list.  I hope we find a magic bullet, and if mineral oil
turns out to be one of the oils that help control mites, great.  Also,
full speed ahead to understand the mechanism by which these chemicals
affect mites - blocking of chemo-receptors, suffocation, whatever.
 
I will still remain cautious.  Like Adrian, we found that colonies
usually collapse in the second or third year of a varroa infestation (48
colonies, sampled monthly for tracheal and varroa mites), 23,000 bees cut
and the numbers of mites in each trachea recorded.
 
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
The University of Montana-Missoula
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