>> Herd Immunity For Bees
>> If only some colonies are treated for Varroa. 
>> ..varroa and viruses spread
>> If most get treated. . spreading is contained

> But mite resistance to the treatments will be sooner.

Well, formic acid has been used for quite some time in Europe with no sign
of resistant mites cropping up, and I expect the same can be said for
oxalic acid.  No one has proven it, but one supposes that these are both
physiological attacks on the mites, breaking down the waxy coating on their
shells, messing with their antennae (and sadly, also doing a number on bee
antennae), or whatever.

So, if a mite can build up a resistance to the acids, then I should be able
to shoot myself with a 22-caliber bullet every week, and thereby build up a
resistance to the larger-caliber bullets.  :)

The problem with both is that the application is just too finicky - it is
hard to know what formic dose we are administering to any one hive, and it
is hard to see an upside to trying to use oxalic when the bees are trying to
raise brood.

In VA, we had a very sharp spring bloom cut-off, so my bees went from
apples, to tulip poplar, and then half went up in the national forests to
sourwood.  Before sourwood, I would cage the queens, as I did not want the
bees wasting effort and resources on brood that would grow up to be
unproductive mouths to feed, living out their lives during the dearth.  This
"caged queen" period would have been a fine time to hit the bees with some
oxalic, but mites were much of an issue, as I was very isolated.

But caging queens is a game that can only be played when one as a very firm
grasp on the blooms, as caging her too long can leave a colony too weak to
raise brood into bees to work the fall blooms, while caging her too briefly
means the labor of caging so many queens would not pay off in significantly
reduced consumption of the high-value sourwood nectar.

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