# Explain differences



## cristianNiculae (Jul 2, 2013)

I don't intend to be a TF(I'll go for a partial approach using one OA dribble/year) but I'm curious about one thing.

I have a yard of nucs(some of them are really strong by now in singles). Last treatment was 1 year ago using OAV, no VSH just regular queens from my area.

How do you explain the huge differences in varroa infestation btw. hives?

Bigger hives are much prone to higher numbers as they lay more but in my yard it turned out to be the opposite:

Found 5 frame nuc with 20%, some other with 5% and some with less then 0.5%. I was inspecting with the purpose of gaining knowledge regarding the correlation btw. bee behavior and mite infestation. In many of my nucs I can see bees being a bit too restless and found this 2 being so calm so I tested these for mites and found those low numbers.

So one is a 10 framer and the other a 5 framer with the same 0.5%.

Thanks.


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

that's kind of how mites are, hard to predict. if you get lucky and have some low counts it is easy to think you found some magic answer, you have not. you have to monitor and manage or sooner or later things will get nasty. the 20% count hive is in the "dead hive flying range". less than .5% is great.


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## mrobinson (Jan 20, 2012)

Of course, mites (like everything else) are _natural predators,_ attempting to gain access to a highly-protected area and having varying degrees of success in doing so. Their success, therefore, does not _entirely_ correlate to what you do or don't do.

Furthermore ... we should remember that "varroa mites," being a _natural_ predator of honeybees, are also undoubtedly something that honeybees have encountered for, well, at least "hundreds of thousands of" years. They certainly know how to fight them off, _and,_ I am equally sure, how to somewhat-tolerate their presence in the hive. It will be a continuous tug-of-war that is never stable from day to day.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Honeybee? The mite that is giving problems now on the European honey bee does have a working arrangement with the Asian bee that is quite different. The European bee may be able to learn adequate coping mechanisms for this foreign invader but so far it appears to be a "work in progress".


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## cristianNiculae (Jul 2, 2013)

I'm planning on doing a bit of selection regarding varroa. Using only one time treatment I think I can achieve that. My guess was that those 2 hives had a bit of success in removing the mites or smt. but of course I'm speculating. I have very little experience with bees and varroa.
I'm anxious to see the results in Spring . So far so good: I don't expect a further big increase in numbers as laying has diminished.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Sounds like a plan Cristian. There can be many reasons why one hive has less mites than another, could just be the position in the apiary.

But all small beekeepers like you and me can do is breed from what appears to be the best, so good luck!

Varroa mites have been living with American honeybees for something less than 30 years.


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