My modeling suggests that a typical colony in your area on the first of May, exhibiting an alcohol was of only 5 mites per half cup of bees (a perhaps unalarming infestation rate of under 2%) would contain slightly over 1600 mites (I'd expect that colony, if untreated, to collapse in October)..  Splitting that colony in May would leave 800 mites in each hive.  If each split received a queen (I do not know whether they did) at that time of season, one would expect that mite level to continue to double once a month, thus resulting in 3200 mites per hive by the first of July, exhibiting an alcohol wash of 10 mites--without any immigration whatsoever.  I'd expect those colonies to collapse by November.



This is the key,  and not sure where Petes hive lie in this,  so that’s a variable.   Just splitting is not the key to reducing mites this way.  The brood break that accompanies a requeen event is the key.  If you do not requeen the splits with a huge break in brood cycle,  then you still have the same mite load.

Mel did a lot of early work on these lines.   The parent colony with the old queen and brood is still doomed.  Its % of mites remains the same.  
The key lies in the broodless period.  Mel claims that all the mature mites then jump in the first new larve 3 weeks later and since there is several mites per larve they perish and are removed,    I don't know if this is true,  (it does seems to work)  or if just delaying several key mite cycles is the answer.

Bottom line I am trying to say is adding a mated queen or even a queen cell to a split with capped brood  doesn't change the percentage of mite load. You need that 15 day queen development period in the mix.



Charles

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