Greetings to all. I've been lurking on the list for several months but now have a problem I really need some help with. Although I think it would be somewhat unusual for a colony to be killed off by Varroa at this time of year, I think that is what is happening right now. This is a colony that I started from a package in April (in Michigan) and from which I harvested 2 medium supers of beautiful fully capped honey the first week of Sept. What I am seeing is dead pupae in open, capped and partially uncapped cells; varroa running on the comb when I poke at a cluster of bees with my finger; bees with their head stuck in brood cells which back out when I tickle them, most of which are deformed with short abdomens, and the very most rear parts that are sticking out of the cells are dry and white. The population is WAY down, the yellow jackets completely dominate the entrance, and I'm sure this colony won't survive the autumn. I suspected sacbrood when I first saw this 3 weeks ago ( no bees sticking heads in the cells then ) but now when I come back from vacation, things have deteriorated dramatically and I see in "Hive and the Honeybee" that shrunken abdomens and dead brood can be result of varroa kill. That with actually seeing 5 or 6 varroa running on a small area of comb when I poke at a small cluster of bees has got me pretty much convinced that varroa are doing them in. I have never seen a description of a varroa killed colony and have wondered how people know varroa are responsible for overwinter losses. Any help here? What do I do with this colony? What do I do with the combs of dead brood after the colony has died off? Thanks for any responses. Alden Leatherman [log in to unmask]