>High temperatures may also be harmful to queens, their developing ovaries and their egg viability.


I saw that data with the Pettis study back in 2016 with shipping temps and queen fertility and I was convinced then that there might be something to it. 

But back to drones - Drone trapping on separate frames then heating just those frames in the early pupae stage to kill varroa attempting to preserve their life and fertility is something that's not been tested as far as I can tell- probably because it doesn't have a practical application yet. As I mentioned, the temps required to kill varroa in cells are not much higher than those that drones meet in the environment as adults ~ 100℉ or so. I suppose heat used this way might work like any other acaricide in that there would need to be a balance between killing mites and harming bees measured in terms of both temperature and duration. It interests me that it might be possible and may it end up being useful.

Drone trapping then freezing the frames is something lots of small backyard beekeepers do. If there was a practical way to heat the frame and return it to the colony unharmed except that the mites were dead, that would preserve the queen's genetic material and may restore some balance to the colony. Just thinking out loud. 




Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html