Good discussion on formic and Apivar....  I use Amrine boards to apply
formic and can tell if I get a good dosage and mite kill if I see around
100 newly emerged bees dead on the landing board the morning after I do a
flash treatment.  Amrine's paper mentions this too.  As I have stated in
the past, I like the flash treatment because I can regulate the dosage down
to the ml based on hive strength and ambient temperature.  I use a plastic
graduated cylinder with heavy marks to calibrate the dose for singles, one
and a half's, and doubles.  .  We had a long cold spring in North Carolina
then a wet summer and I am not seeing abnormally high mite numbers in
alcohol washes thus far this late summer.

I am trying a few Apivar strips just to see and appreciate the advice to
put them where the bees are.  It is tempting to put them in the top box
when the weather is hot and the lifting is heavy.

I just finished 2 rounds of feeding to stimulate fall bee production.  I
keep a 2 gallon division board feeder in the top box of a double deep and
use caps and ladders and have very few problems with the feeders.  I find I
can diagnose a lot of in-hive problems just by lifting the lid and looking
at the feeder a few days after feeding.  The rate of feed draw-down is a
good diagnostic tool for finding failing queens, drone layers, and dinks in
general without having to do a total hive inspection.

Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC

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