# Alcohol Wash Number Interpretation



## Charlestonbee (Mar 26, 2015)

I'm slightly confused. It sounds like the hives with high infestation haven't been treated since last fall/going into winter. If that was the case they have had a full season to build in size and mite load w no treatment. There was no spring treatment so wouldn't the load be decently high and this time of year would yield your highest counts. Obviously if left untreated you would see the snot brood and dwv crawlers type syndromes you're talking about that may be slightly covered up w a fall flow. You would go into winter and then experience your hive loss. This seems all normal to me is what I'm saying. Kind of like when you try treatment free and your hive does great and produces a lot of honey so all is well until the next year they die. Who knows maybe you have some of those special bees that live with no interaction and super high mite loads.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Interesting results. I'm betting your breeder is a big hive as well? I'm jealous your nucs have built so well, I guess we just don't have the flows to support them, heck, this year the flow was a bust, most hives didn't really build to much of anything but they'll winter alright. that being said, most hives look better than previous years when they've built up a lot stronger in terms of mite issues. The new hives I bought that are in an area that supported fair growth look the worst, with 1 hive pretty much already collapsed, and about 11 of the remaining 15 needing urgent treatment. 4 look decent enough but will get treated anyways just to clean up all the colonies there. I think my switching to a lot of VSH genetics may have played a role as well, not sure, but even a 2 frame swarm I got in May has just been holding around 5 frames now, and it took some feed to get them there.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

this is a perfect example why I don't even check. This number is arbitrary because different colonies have different thresholds. Your 4% infestation is showing DWV while your 15% infestation is not showing any. You said it's a 3 yr old queen, what was the % of that colony last fall? I bet it was high then too, but somehow they didn't crash this spring.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Am not counting mites this year. Last year proved to me that each and every colony I own is at or above the treatment threshold in August. Am sure that I have some bees that can handle it and some that can't. 
Yes I have some TF bees but only because I could not afford to treat them all and certain colonies I possess are or seem to be hygenic. 
Most of my bees are refugees from The University of Illinois apiaries so who knows what all I got. 


Am using leftover MAQ's from last year too. They knocked me back away from the bucket when I opened it. Lucky I'm not a mite. 
The shelf-life must be forever on them because they still have a whole shelf full at Rural King left from last season.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

JRG, I had a few farmers around my nuc yard decide to let their alfalfa go to seed. So that helped. That yard languishes in non-flow in spring until some of the later stuff hits. In my other yards they had drawn and filled supers before production colonies in nuc yard even started drawing comb. But then once it started they have actually caught up in the production average of around 100#. And they've got another 50# or so to take and drawn comb for fall if it hits. 

Harley, I didn't take a count last fall. 

MAQS does have an expiration date. Not sure what happens after, my understanding was that the time release part might not work very well? NOD is clearancing strips for half off right now that expire in September. If you call their office.


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## Charlestonbee (Mar 26, 2015)

I'm also curious to see what the mite load will be at this time next year on same hives. Especially since no count was done last year. I wonder if you will see a trend of those hives carrying high loads. I believe you mentioned in a queen rearing post about this breeder queen starting out w a slower scattered pattern. Keep us posted I'm def curious


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Yeah not slower really. Slower than last year perhaps, but she's older. But a couple frames from time-to-time look crappy. 

And JRG, yes, big colony. Triple deep + supers. 4 supers right now. Bees on all frames and inner cover. Didn't count brood but in second box she had at least 5 frames with brood. Probably six. I didn't look in top or bottom deep. I suspect she might have a daughter laying with her now though.


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