The amounts of adult bees, worker brood and drone brood were significantly lower in the surviving colonies compared with the control colonies.  In addition, it was clear that the smaller colony size of the surviving population was not a symptom of mite infestation. Inbred honey bee colonies can also result in reduced colony size and since an inbreeding potential exists in the surviving colonies from Gotland due to their isolation, the level of inbreeding in this population should be investigated. — Locke, B., & Fries, I. 

Given the gaps in the current understanding of adaptations within the A. mellifera–V. destructorviruses system, natural selection programmes may or may not favour colony survival after an undefined number of years. This uncertainty and the timescale involved should be considered when starting a selection programme. The outcome of a natural selection-based programme depends on local environmental conditions, on the proportion of resistant colonies already present in the population or on the success of reciprocal adaptation during the selection process. As a result, the probability of obtaining stock surviving V. destructor infestation in the absence of acaricidal treatments cannot be predicted. — Matthieu Guichard, Benjamin Dainat, Vincent Dietemann. 

For more than 35 years Varroa has been the major threat for apiculture. The scale of the damage and the costs of its control make it a very urgent problem. The study of “surviving” colonies has, so far, not resulted in a lasting solution for the beekeeping community. It seems time for the research field to shift its attention to more efficient ways of obtaining Varroa-resistant bees. —  Jacques J. M. van Alphen and BartJan Fernhout. 

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