I would like to clear up a few questions regarding the use of Metarhizium anisopliae for varroa control. I am a researcher for ARS who has been working on this project. First, I would just like to clarify that Green Muscle is a Metarhizium anisopliae product used for grasshopper (locust) control in Africa. The product is really a subspecies of the fungus that is very specific to grasshoppers, and other closely related insects. Thus, it is highly unlikely that it will work on varroa. However, some of the technology developed for Green Muscle is useful in developig a varroa product. Second, the fungus that Bill Ruzicka was working with in the 90's was Hirsutella thompsonii, and we found that the particular strain he worked with was not very pathogenic to varroa in lab bioassays. Other strains can be quite pathogenic. However, that fungus is very difficult to produce and formulate in a product that will work on bees. I am not saying that it can't be done, but I had a very difficult time with it and subsequently gave up the effort. Last, but not least, I really doubt that we will be able to produce the silver bullet for varroa control, and especially not in the form of a pill that you can just drop down the hole in the inner cover. We have been working on ways to apply spores to the hives, but that has not been one of them. Beekeepers will have to apply the fungual spores more than once in the life of a hive, and probably at least once a year. We are still working on the question of just how frequently applications need to be made. The beekeeping industry has been verbally very supportive of this project, and we appreciate that. --Rosalind James :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::