In message <004c01c34bf6$581deca0$b6e46742@cedavidson>, beekeeper
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>The natural fall calculated at 12 mites in 24 hours.  I
>expected many more.  I did check some drone brood in burr comb when I
>supered but only found a couple total and only one per cell.
> 3. Pull honey as usual and not treat and see if
>     perhaps they are resistant.
IMHO yes. I don't know how your bees perform in variable weather, so,
unless the brood rearing has been interrupted and resumed, the low count
seems to me well within acceptable limits. To follow the IPM approach
wait until the level is at the predetermined limit. The problem seems to
be deciding what this limit should be. If you test drone brood, do 100
if you can, and get the %. This might be a more appropriate indicator as
it would less dependent on colony size. We have some "abnormally low"
mite counts (like zero for example) and time will tell if this is an
anomaly of the summer flow.

Over here in the UK, you'd want 80 per day on the old level of 2500
mites in a typical colony (in the mid-season) and 30 per day on the more
recently recommended level of 1000 before treating. The problem with any
blanket treatment is that it hides the colonies with any varroa
tolerance. The problem with not treating is missing sudden increases in
mite numbers coming in from elsewhere, but you are monitoring, so you
can wait, so long as you have a treatment ready for any time this
happens.
--
James Kilty

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