> >Ok, but what happens in the fall and winter, particularly in northern >climates. Are all of those mites in an old bee simply second generation >progeny (staying in the same host), or do mites transfer to older hosts >(become less picky at this time of year)? I don't know and can't say I >have seen any hard data on this one. Pettis has evidence of more than >one generation of mites in the same host. > >How about all those mites in the other tracheae, where did they come >from? Same host, another host, some of both? > >Makes a difference in the population modeling efforts. > There was some work reported not long ago in ABJ on transference of Acarapis woodi between mature bees in the winter cluster. I noted it because it contradicts the up to '4day > old' doctrine weve been brought up on. In the UK here I 'bought in' Acarine into my bees when expanding a few years ago. Fortunately I isolated them into one apiary. That winter the HTM bees died out and I have since had no trouble. Losses were over 50% but I prefered to see them go and breed from better bees. Yours Ian [log in to unmask] - Northern Regional Bee Inspector, UK - Bee Curious phone/fax 01704 822831 snailmail 'Asland' Flash Lane, Rufford, Ormskirk, Lancs, L40 1SW - UK.