I am reading with interest the cool queens. It is my understanding that queens will be damaged if they are cooled WHILE A QUEEN CELL. This happens to breeders who pull off queen cells to move the the mating nucs and the cells get chilled in the process. For cool insects, read Heinrich's new Hot Blooded Insects. Regarding Varroa: work done in our lab and by Dr. Glen Needham and Dr. Bill Bruce, USDA, on water loss in mites, demonstrate that Vmites will not dry out too fast if they can feed on bee hemolymph. If the bees dry out, so do the mites, so it may be that those bees in the cells were not dry and the VM could survive there longer. When restocking dead colonies with live bees, it might be a good idea to let it dry out thoroughly to avoid this. For tracheal mites, my research shows that veg oil patties work well, if kept on the hives allthe time. Hope your bee season is fruitful. Diana Sammataro Dept Entomology 1735 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210 1220 Phone: 614 292 9089