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.