>I have recently come across the term Integrated Pest Management Theory,
>which I understand relates to using different but complimentary methods to
>control a pathogen.

Integrated Pest Management has also been described as "A strategy that uses
various combinations of pest control methods, biological, cultural, and
chemical in a compatible manner to
achieve satisfactory control and ensure favorable economic and environmental
consequences."
(Section 3, National Coalition on IPM, 1994).

One of the buzz words in IPM is economic thresholds.  That means the level
of pest infestation that is likely to cause an economic loss to the
beekeeper. This is somewhere below the level of infestation that will
completely wreck the colony.  You only treat for the pest when its
population exceeds the threshold. For varroa jacobsoni the thresholds
(numbers of mites detected) in Georgia are:
February 4.3 adhesive sheet method
         2   ether roll method
August   117-187 adhesive sheet method
         14-15  ether roll method
(please correct me if these numbers are wrong)

>I have searched the Web but all of the sites are specific to a particular
>pest, which I daresay is the way it must be. I did not come across any
>theory as applied to varroa.

Not all the sites are specific.  Try searching agriculture journals.
Agrichemical and Environmental News for July 99 had a whole issue dedicated
to IPM.
http://www2.tricity.wsu.edu/aenews/July99AENews/July99AENews.htm

The Entomological Society of America is offering free access to it's online
journals through December.  Register at the site below.
http://journals.entsoc.org/
Check out the April 1999 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology for two
articles about varroa.

Also, university web sites have search engines for academic papers
sometimes.  I go to the University of Georgia and used my school's website
http://www.uga.edu to find links.
Try the extension service at the local agriculture school as well. UGA's
page:
http://www.ces.uga.edu/default.htm
University of Flordia's page:
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis.htm
(look at APIS issue October 1996, Vol 14, number 10)
Cornell University's site:
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/

The National Integrated Pest Management Network:
http://www.reeusda.gov/nipmn/

Don't know how much all that helps you, Tom, but the Americans on the list
may find it useful.

Katie Stepp
student of apiculture

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