From Scott:
>Is there any way to quantify reinfestation via robbing/drift?

It is laborious and likely only applicable to hobbyists with a few hives, but monitoring mite drops has been effective for me in seeing trends.  It does not give the quantitative measure that alcohol or sugar gives, but it does show trends and an abrupt rise in mite drop could  lead you to suspect reinfestation by robbing or otherwise.  Having baseline measurements are very valuable in assessing onetime events, whether it be treatment or a suspected robbing incident.

For what it is worth, I have one hive (of six in my apiary) that persisted in high mite drops this season, exhibiting deformed wing virus and parasitic mite syndrome; I resorted to formic pro, Apivar and OAV (limited efficacy this time of year) one after the other and finally got things under control, I think.

Mike Garvey
Swampscott, MA
71W 42N

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html