At 09:03 PM 4/13/03 -0700, you wrote:
>No I've never treated for mites. At this point, I'm afraid there aren't
>enough bees remaining to be able to afford an ether roll test. I will try a
>mite drop test, but the comments posted here seem mighty convincing that
>it's time to treat.

You can always use a sugar roll.  It's performed much the way a ether roll
test is, though using about a tablespoon of powdered sugar, and doesn't
harm the bees.
Though if the hive is already that weak, I doubt any treatment could save
it at this point.  But do check and treat your other hives as soon as
possible.  When one hive in an apiary is heavily infested, it's quite
likely the others are affected as well.  It's my understanding that some
big operators even go so far as testing a sample (several hives) from each
apiary, then treat the whole apiary based on the results.

-Tim

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