> Both the above legal and already approved treatments will provide > suppression of varroa mites and would be harder for the hobby > beekeeper to use than strips but time is of little concern to the > hobby beekeeper. Now consider the time needed to apply the same > treatments to around a thousand hives. Maybe it is time for enterprising beekeepers, or others who recognise the opportunity, to start up specialized services to deal with some of these important, but time-consuming and distracting tasks. It seems to me that mite detection and treatment presents an ideal opening for young or retired beekeepers to do bee work that requires little investment, equipment, or lifting -- on a custom basis. Farmers now hire ferilizer spreading, manure spreading, feed mixing, animal healthcare, and many other chores; why should beekeepers not also use specialists for some of their bothersome and somewhat technical tasks? Beekeepers are often Jacks-of-all-trades, but maybe this has to stop somewhere. For the service I am proposing, the barriers to entry should be low. It seems to me that some education, a pickup truck, some sticky boards, some microscopes, and some chemicals, etc. are about all that is required to get started. When we consider the fact that a specialist should be able to do the job in a more professional, timely and better documented fashion than someone who only does the job occasionally and in a hurried fashion, sandwiched in with other apiary tasks, the advantages seem to me to be obvious. Seeing as any beekeeper already has supply, travel and labour costs, and seeing as the specialist could likley get a purchasing advantage due to volume and thus come in lower in terms of cost than the beekeeper himself -- and obtain superior efficacy -- the specialist should turn out to be very competitive in net cost, and leave the beekeeper free to focus on the profitable aspects of beekeeping or to take some time off to rest. Would beekeepers employ such a service? That is the real question. Beekeepers tend to be parsimonious and also reluctant to allow others into their apiaries. Nonetheless, mite management requires timely attention and up-to-date information. A knowledge of what is happening with other bees in the district can help in deciding what measures are required and how soon. I would think that an outside specialist could do a superior job at a lower cost to the beekeeper. allen http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::