This may be a silly question, but not being a chemist if someone can
enlighten me I would appreciate it...

In a book by John Crompton, "A Hive of Bees", (1958) there is reference to a
"cure" to the tracheal mite (A. woodi) problem that was rampant in England.
The cure, developed by R.W. Frow in 1927, was a mixture of "petrol,
nitrobenzene, and saffrol oil. The idea was to apply it to the hive on a pad
so that the fumes permeated the whole hive. The bees... would breath it and
(perforce) the mites, and the mites would be killed and the bees would not."
Mr. Crompton also wrote that the cure would "kill the eggs of the mites as
well."

Accordingly, the dose had to be precise to not kill the bees, as "the
correct dosage... is a hair's-breadth matter when both the mite and its host
are breathing in poison: fortunately the mite is a little more susceptible."
The treatment was usually given in winter.

I know a lot of work has been done in developing resistant bees, and menthol
and essential oils are used by many (with varying success). And, I assume
that this "recipe" (though not detailed in the book) is not condoned due to
the nature of beeswax absorbing and retaining toxic chemicals long after
they've been removed from the hive (contaminating future honey stores),
and/or the volatility(?) of the mixture.

However, since the saffrol oil was probably just a base "carrier" medium for
the other two substances I was wondering if anyone knew if further testing
had ever been done to determine why petrol and nitrobenzene were used
together. Was there a substance in the petrol that reacted or combined with
nitrobenzene to produce the toxin? Also, has any testing been done to
determine if similar, but safer to use (if there are any), substances have
the same effects on mites without killing the bees?

Thanks in advance for any answers.
--David Scribner
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