Robin said:
> Where dusts are interesting IMHO
> is that they may be useful in programmes to identify colonies that are on
> tghe way to developing a grooming habit - whereas using chemicals of any
> sort surely just ignores those trends?

Not sure how dust removal is going to help to identify those colonies -
surely most colonies remove any debris that they can carry?

It seems logical  that using a very high efficiency chemical must reduce the
likelihood of bees developing 'resistance' to varroa (or at least increase
the timescale) and this is one of the reasons that I chose to use thymol -
so that the bees had sub-lethal exposure to the mites.  As Marla Spivak said
recently, "Leave mites in colonies; do not try to eliminate them all; in
some cases bees can sustain 10% to 15% infestation with little harm."  This
has been my strategy for the past 6 years!

We still seem to have an obsession with mite numbers - even though we have
been told many times that it is viruses that are actually doing the damage.
If we keep varroa numbers low, rather than try to eliminate them completely,
colonies will be exposed to low levels of the viruses vectored by varroa.
My hope is that those colonies that are highly susceptible to DWV and APV
will then die out, leaving more resistant strains.

However, I have just finished treatment for this year and after treatment
with thymol for three weeks, I had a look at the boards under my screened
colonies; the highest mite count was only 22!  Perhaps I need to reduce the
treatment to encourage more mites!

Peter Edwards
[log in to unmask]
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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