Bee Liners
 
I placed fluvalenate strips in about fifty colonies on Monday to
treat for Varroa.  I first detected Varroa last fall but was able
to delay treatment until this fall.  One of the colonies I treated
Monday had a pollen trap on it and I decided to leave it on to see
what would fall into the collection tray.  I stopped by the bee
yard on Wednesday and opened the collection drawer on the trap and
saw a significant sprinkling of mites.  However, upon closer
examination I noticed that almost all were alive and moving, albeit
slowly.   I have used sticky boards in the past to check for mites
and assumed the mites were dead when they hit the board.  However,
the glue would finish off any live mites.  I am wondering what the
prognosis is on the moribund mites I saw in the pollen trap.  Were
they stunned, and ready to crawl back up and reinfest.  Intuitively
I think not, since detectible mite levels go down following
treatment, but it was still disturbing to see the mites crawling
in the pollen trap.
 
Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC
--
William G Lord
E-Mail  : wglord@franklin
Internet: [log in to unmask]
Phone   : 919-496-3344
Fax     : 919-496-0222