Allen said:
> I also, understand that the ideal time for treatment is when there is
little or no brood.  That
> takes care of the concerns about brood, but -- if we think about it --what
> is the weather likely to be when the brood rearing is cut back to nil?

The greater problem here is that by the time that there is little or no
brood it is far too late to treat a colony for varroa.  Colonies die out in
winter not because of the varroa, but because of the deformed wing virus
(DWV) vectored by varroa.  If we wait until there is no brood then a
significant proportion of our adult bees may well be infected with the
virus - and, if there is no brood left to emerge, then these bees have to
survive through to the spring.  However, DWV shortens the life of bees to an
average of 88 days - so bees that we see in early November will all be dead
by early February and the colony will not survive the winter.

Colonies must be treated early to ensure that there is an adequate
population of healthy young bees going into the winter; this means, for the
UK at least, that treatment should start as soon as the crop is removed,
usually in early August.

Peter Edwards
[log in to unmask]
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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