HM Trial Final Plan

[RHBee]

First, I would like to thank everyone who took their time to reply your input was appreciated.

Secondly, I want to outline the method I plan to use to apply the HM.
I'm going to only apply these mites to my 8 strongest colonies. I will spread 1 cup of material directly on top of the brood chamber frames. All my colonies are sitting on bottom board oil pans but these will be kept dry. In an attempt to create a sustainable habitat for mite breeding 4 of these pans will have a layer of spangum peat moss mixed with top soil added. The other 4 will simply be kept dry. I will make 3 applications of mites through out the year. One now another after the flow and the final mid fall. This protocol is following suggestions given to by Stacy Hickman, she is the entomologist featured in the video that started me thinking about giving this a try. She has been gracious enough to answer my emails and provide directions. I purchased my mites from Evergreen Growers located in Oregon a fellow named John Maurer. Their responses to my emails have been prompt and shipment of the product timely.
My other colonies will get my standard care. Oil pans for SHB and timely OA vapor for Varroa. I don't bother to do mite counts. I follow the belief that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Where bees are varroa and hive beetles are also.

[BeeMaster2]

Ray,
You say you have oil pans. How are the mites going to get back to the bees through the screen? Are you going to have enough span gum to touch the screens so that the bees can walk on the screens and pick up the mites? Are you going to let them live off of the dropped mites and then use what is in the pan for the other 2 treatments?
Thanks for the update, I will be following this thread.
Jim

[buzzbee]

This is the plan referred to:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,44031.0.html

[iddee]

A non-member asked that this be posted for him, as he doesn't want to join a forum just to post one post.

""I would suggest that the mites not be applied to all the treated hives at the same time.   It could be that the time of application is critical for success.  As much as it may seem counterproductive, it just might be that a certain level of varroa infestation would be needed for the mites to build up and maintain their populations for success.  If applied too early in the season, with a very low varroa population, the predators might just die out or become very reduced before they can get established.
I say this in speculation.  All questions are valid at this stage of the experimentation.""

[RHBee]

Ray,
You say you have oil pans. How are the mites going to get back to the bees through the screen? Are you going to have enough span gum to touch the screens so that the bees can walk on the screens and pick up the mites? Are you going to let them live off of the dropped mites and then use what is in the pan for the other 2 treatments?
Thanks for the update, I will be following this thread.
Jim

Jim,
My oil pan/bottom board is much like yours. The pans I make fit snugly so, I believe the HM will be able to traverse back and forth. And yes, I believe they will prey on the mites that drop in the pan and hopefully other pests such as SHB and Wax Moth larvae. I really don't think I could harvest mites from these pans to supply the other two treatments. I'll buy them from Evergreen again. Raising the mites would be another experiment.

A non-member asked that this be posted for him, as he doesn't want to join a forum just to post one post.

""I would suggest that the mites not be applied to all the treated hives at the same time.   It could be that the time of application is critical for success.  As much as it may seem counterproductive, it just might be that a certain level of varroa infestation would be needed for the mites to build up and maintain their populations for success.  If applied too early in the season, with a very low varroa population, the predators might just die out or become very reduced before they can get established.
I say this in speculation.  All questions are valid at this stage of the experimentation.""

Iddee,
I'm simply following the protocol I was given by Stacey Hickman. From what I understand, the intent is to introduce the HM before the infestation of Varroa becomes to heavy. More like a preventative measure than a reactive one. Also, I understand that the HM can survive on a diet of organic matter as well as prey. That's why I'm going to provide the peat/top soil mixture. I have no idea if this is going to work or not. I just think that if we don't try new things we will not learn. I agree that all questions are valid. Questions make us think and thinking leads to solutions.

There was a man I used to work for that I respected very much. He used two sayings often to motivate us when we were getting our a$$es handed to us by a reoccurring problem. One, the definition of insanity is "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result". The other, "If you do what you've always done you will get what you've always got". Then he would say "Kill the problem". Now I don't know what's going to happen but I'm willing to try.

My greatest concern is that the SHB could use the soil mixture in the pans as a breeding ground also that the HM will view the honeybee larvae as prey. My fallback position will be OA vaporization. This should kill the HM if I find that they are a detriment to my colonies. If I create a SHB breeding ground I'll refill my pans. 

[BeeMaster2]

Ray,
It sounds like the HM will feast on the SHB larva in the soil. May not be a problem at all. It would bee nice.
Jim