Hello all, its been a while but I now have bees again, being in the thick of Varroa country and living with the mite is now a reality for many here in NSW and this will expand as the mite infestations spread. I went to the 45th Bee Field day at Tocal this past week end and learnt a lot re management. 
the main take away points were:
- constant monitoring (monthly) is necessary as mite numbers climb so rapidly even after treatment, examples were given where treatment was undertaken as the count was above the threshold for the hive phase. 4 weeks after treatment numbers had risen again to even higher than the initial count. this cycle was repeated 3 times before mite numbers were under the threshold.
this may reduce as feral hive infestations ease through natural attrition. - Having drone brood frames and removing every 21 days can remove up to 40% of mite population. It was recommended adding an ideal frame into the brood box, in the middle not the ends and the bees will make bur-comb for drone production, (once full or not exceeding 21days as the drones will hatch defeating the purpose) this comb is cut off and either fed to the chooks or frozen. this seemed an essential maintenance practice for mite reduction during the initial spread, and maybe later.
- there is a very handy tool developed to help in the treatment of infected hives, particularly as we begin to get use to living this now. Open Tool
- Swarm management and hive health are vital in the initial stages of varroa management. Keeping a strong healthy hive will give the bees the best chance to combat the varroa threat. Keeping frames in the brood full of worker brood and in good condition is as important as having drone cell turnover.
I appreciate many other bee keepers already deal with this however it is all new to so many now and there are also many others providing good valuable information on this and many other sites.