At the meeting we took everyone through Randy Oliver's Varroa Model. If you want to play with it yourself, here are a few pointers. First, here is a link to the model:
scientificbeekeeping.com/randys-varroa-model/
1) You will need Microsoft Excel on your computer to run this model.
2) Click on the blue title "Randy's Varroa Model 25 Aug Version", which appears part way down the page. This will download the program into your computer.
Right below the blue title are 4 tutorials you can watch. I suggest watching the first two as a minimum.
3) You will need to click on the button "Enable Editing" that is at the bottom of the header in the middle of the page. Now you change the various inputs.
4) You will need to change the hive type from R (California hive) to D (default/Midwest hive). For beginners I would leave all other inputs alone. Just play with the first column which is for treatment effective values. Note: To delete a value already in a cell use the delete key. Using the "space bar" to clear the cell causes the computer program to say "Error, error, I can not compute!!!!!" Just kidding but using the "space bar" does corrupt the program and cell must again be cleared using the delete key.
Using this model you can develop a mite treatment program using your preferred treatment methods. Remember multiple treatments are likely to be necessary. The effectiveness of the various mite treatments are to the right of the graph and table. Although we did not discuss these at the meeting, drone trapping and splitting are also options for reducing mites.
Have fun!
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