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Date: | Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:14:24 -0800 |
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?>Roughly half the mites in natural mite fall are of mites freshly emerged
>from brood, many of which die prior to feeding on bees. Natural mite drop
>largely reflects the number of bees emerging on a particular day. Natural
>drop is less when phoretic mites are actively entering large cohorts of
>propupae.
That is very interesting. Is this in the mite literature somewhere? I'd
check
my books, but they are 2,000 miles away right now.
>>Washes show numbers, but maybe drops show the age distribution and
general health of the mite population if we learn to read them.
> Could be, but for beekeepers with limited time and multiple yards, may be
impractical.
That is what I leaned this year. I outgrew my ability to do things the way
I
had been doing them.
Nonetheless, for those who have the time and the set-up and the interest,
it seems to me to be the way to go. I am still very impressed by what
Jean-Pierre Chapleau accomplished with his floors, and he ran hundreds of
hives.
(see http://www.apinovar.com/apinovar.en.html )
I intend to change my floors to screens with a place for a drop board this
year
so I can monitor by observing drops whenever I like. Drops tell me what I
need
to know if I don't try to push to the very edge of safety before acting.
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