How are your Mites doing so far this year?

[Adam Foster Collins]

Regardless of whether you treat or not, I'm wondering how each of your mite levels are this year, or if you have a sense of that yet. Perhaps you use specific methods for monitoring; perhaps you're more of a "feel" person in the mite department. Whatever approach you use, I'd like to know where you think their numbers are at.

This has been a slow season in terms of weather here. Some plants are almost a month behind. I wonder if mites have "up years" and "down years" overall, and whether or not this has been a "good season" or a bad one for mite loads far and wide.

So how are your mites doing so far this year?

Adam

[Michael Bush]

As of May...
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/NECertificate2011.JPG

[hankdog1]

Must not be doing too good since the bees are really strong.  Probably not gonna worry about it with them building up like they have been. 

[caticind]

Have done 72-hour mite drops to a sticky board on most of my hives over the last 3 weeks.  None had more than 12 mites on the board.  My two overwintered colonies had 2 and 5 mites, respectively, on the board after 72 hours.

[L Daxon]

This time last year I was fighting a very bad mite infestation on my first year package hive, 120-140 for a 24-hr-drop count.  Saw lots of DWV, even dead pupa in front of the hive. Did powdered sugar shakes and eventually had to go to Apiguard. Hive was OK after the Apiguard treatment and made it through the winter fine.

This year I have 3 hives and I haven't seen one DWV case so far.  I usually take pictures during my inspections and study them later.  I have seen an occasional mite clinging to a bee body, but very, very few, and no DWV on bees crawling on frames in the hive or outside the hive.  I haven't even bothered to do a mite count.

[danno]

Right now i have lots.  In the next week 85-95% of them will be dead

[mikecva]

Just finished our second 72 hour sticky board check on the hives. We had one for all the hives the fist check and none this time. We will run one more about the third week in September.

Our neighbor, did a check last week and had 35 in their one hive. We are not sure why the big difference. We are about a mile apart, his are at the edge of some trees and ours are in the open. We did feed differently (I used some F-B and he did not) but we do not think that is it. BTW my colonies are healthier/larger in general then his.  -Mike