Robin Dartington mentioned the "Fugus Among Us":

> at Rothamstaed... introducing a self-sustaining, mite-killing  fungus into
> the hive environment.  Fungus were known to kill mites and Rothamstead has
> found several types effective against varooa.

I think that the real problem is going to be finding a fungus that can
thrive in the "controlled climate" of a beehive brood chamber.

Here in Virginia, we have had nothing but rain all spring and summer.
It has been so damp that must replace some drywall in my (unheated and
uncooled) honey house due to mold growth.  But my hives are fine.  No mold,
no damp, no problem.  While mold is only one type of fungus, beekeepers only
see moldy comb in dead-outs, as molds in general have a difficult time
staying alive in beehives. (Which is a "good thing" for bees and beekeeping.)


In a similar vein, if we could somehow dehumidify our beehives, we could
desiccate varroa to death.  This dehumidification would likely also kill
an entire "generation" of brood in the process, but it would be a great
non-toxic way to kill varroa if one could accept the collateral damage
of a serious break in the brood cycle.  This would not be cheap at all,
as a dehumidifier requires both a compressor and a high velocity fan, and
compressors and motors are greedy consumers of electricity.

...and yeah, I've already tried enhancing airflow with both electric fans
and with a "solar chimney" (which heats air in a column above the hive,
and thereby sets up a good airflow).  I've pumped significant CFM through
a few hives in an attempt to lower varroa populations, all the way down
to the point where I was killing brood due to "chill" of the breeze.
No dice.  I could almost hear the mites laughing at me.

The push-in queen cages might be an answer for those who still tolerate
bees that continue to raise brood into the fall.  If one caged the queen
for a decent interval before introducing one's favorite miticide, there
would be an assurance of "no sealed brood" to speak of, and thereby, a
much more complete mite kill.  But caging the queen means an extra trip
to each hive before one treats the hive, so it is yet another
labor-intensive approach.


                jim (Who has yet to become angry enough at
                 varroa to take some bees and put
                 "frickin' laser beams on their heads",
                 but is getting close...)

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