> >What actually happens in this situation? Does anyone study mites in > wintering bees? > Allen, I've also been curious about this question, and have done the same math. I have not dissected the first patch of brood in winter, nor that of nucs or swarms, but I certainly haven't noticed that it has a high mortality, which I would think should be clearly apparent. Implies that the mites may hold off a bit, which would make evolutionary sense. May depend upon the release of vitellogenin from the fat bodies as the population of nurse bees forms in response to the release of brood pheromone. Randy Oliver *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm