**4. Conclusions**

A variety of diagnostic methods can be used to estimate varroa mite infestation in honey bee colonies, particularly in summer. Summer treatments should be conducted once the natural mite-mortality and the threshold level of the mite infestation have been determined. Di fferences in climatic and geographic conditions as well as hive managemen<sup>t</sup> practices will ultimately determine the success of alternative varroa mite controls [93]. Therefore, further experiments need to be conducted in a variety of climatic conditions to determine a colony's development for specific geographical, climatic, and pasture conditions. Accurate threshold infestation levels need to be established using hive debris test, adult bee examination, or brood examination for specific geographic, climatic, and colony conditions. In addition to mite counts on hive bottom boards (mite fall), the sugar shake method (powdered sugar) helps to remove mites physically from bees and is a quick and accurate monitoring tool for assessing colony infestation levels. Coupling the powdered sugar shake method or mite falls with the use of organic acid- and botanical-based acaricides provides alternative methods of integrated varroa mite control in colonies located in both continental or warm temperate climates. E ffectiveness of varroa mite control and likelihood of honey bee colonies surviving winter are further improved by using acaricides in conjunction with brood interruption or total brood removal.

**Author Contributions:** A.G., and B.S. equally contributed to all studies and wrote the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency, Research Program P1-0164; Research for improvement of safe food and health.

**Acknowledgments:** Research topic is part of Varroa control Task Force activities. Coloss is Association, which aims to explain and prevent massive honey bee colony losses. (Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes).

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
