I'm in the Pacific Northwest. First week in August mite counts in this hive were 40+. Apivar went in; day 42 is tomorrow. Last week I started prepping hive for a combine and noticed two things;  1) The marked queen had been superseded and her very young replacement was on duty. 2) I also noticed a few bees with DWV, perhaps 6 - 10 per frame over 4 brood frames; didn't seem to be anyplace else. The wings on these bees were atrophied and creamy colored, giving the impression these were older bees. I did not observe "fresh" DWV bees, i.e. deformed, but not atrophied with discoloration.

Questions: 1) Is my impression correct that the DWV bees are older?  2) Could the Apivar have brought the mite levels done to levels the bees can tolerate and also mitigate the DWV? 3) Can I safely combine this hive for overwintering? The hive is doing pretty well, population down a little from the brood break, but there is active laying and young larvae present; odor normal. 4) Other thoughts/advice about this situation. Thanks
Rebekah

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