IPM time!!!

I have failed to keep varroa levels acceptable and due to tardiness of administration of combative chemicals, namely due to the fact that I could not get my hands on and Apiguard®, given the entire county is out, I shall begin an IPM(Intigrated Pest Management) regemin. I plan to use powdered sugar dusts, drone comb trapping and the screened bottom board. The powdered sugar encourages bees to groom themselves thus, removing the mite. Varroa mites are actually attracted to drone comb given it allows them greater reproduction time and therefor, more mites. When the cells are capped the varroa are essentially trapped with a seemingly lemitless food supply. In drone trapping, the bees are encouraged to draw drone comb on one frame and the varroa mites are trapped when the cells are capped. Then, the mites can be measured by counting the mites in cells ripped open. The rest of the cells are left capped and placed in a freezer overnight to ensure death to the varroa "vampire" mite. Why all this sudden draw of pest preventors and treatments. Varroa in my colony have climbed to destructive levels as, I am now seeing week, deformed bees on the ground in front of the hive and defformed bees inside. Even the brood pattern has gone awry with brood deaths. If I am to have any hope of bringing this colony though to next year...(dramatic pause)...I need to get my act together!

I did use some brood and bees from the inspection on Monday to help that hive I captured. The cluster of bees is too small to have survived on their own so I added nurse bees and brood. They did, however, draw out a small, dollor coin sized area of comb and filled it with eggs as well as pollen and cell of nectar. Hard work, but, not enough bees to work. With this new addition, these bees should see it though. Afterall, the colony they came from had to be resistant to varroa given it prospered enough to create a swarm. I should assume that they probably have a minor resistance. Oh yeah, they passed the aggressian test.