> Now that winter is upon most of the US
Not on the US East Coast! My Manhattan NYC weather station at 6 stories along 5th Ave in the 60s recorded the following hi/lo temps (in F):
Dec 2-59/47, Dec 6-61/47, 10-51/40, 11-66/45, 12-54/44, 13-54/42, 14-53/44, 15-55/40, 16-62/55, 17-62/50, 18-50/40, 19-45/31
The bees are flying sorties most days, and then loosely clustering at night, likely the least energy-efficient scenario possible.
So, any weak hives kept by "treatment-free" nuisance beekeepers are certain to be robbed, reinfesting the stronger hives that rob them. But even this is hard to detect, as colony could be gaining measurable weight from either robbing or legit foraging, as many roses are still blooming. My own roses, Chinese Forget-Me Nots, and Calendula are still blooming on 2021-21-20 on 52nd overlooking the East River.
> I am curious to hear reports of the efficacy of late summer and fall mite treatments.
The only good news is that hives north of the Mason-Dixon line are highly likely (dare I say "certain"?) to be utterly broodless, but wives and families expect one to bake Springerle and gingerbread men at the winter solstice, not run around town with a vaporizer rig, a motorcycle battery, and little 2 gram premeasured baggies of what looks like crystal meth in one's backpack like some sort of steampunk Santa. But I see no other option than to hit every hive yet again with some oxalic vapor, as one never knows, do one?
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