On Sun, 24 Mar 1996, Allen Dick wrote: > I'm wondering if varroa mites are easily detached when found on/with > dead bees and if they will have stayed with their host to the end in > a dead overwintered hive. > > Specifically, I am wondering if an alcohol wash of a sample of bees > in a dead wintered hive will yield useful data??? > Yes - this is easy to do. Alcohol wash is OK if they are too dry. If the dead bees are moist, you can just roll them in a jar, like an ether roll but without the either. If the bees are very dry, the mites also dry, the mites may appear very light or even clear in color.