Though not a direct answer to your question, I think it may tie in somehow:


> Empirical and theoretical considerations suggest, however, that
intracolony population dynamics of mite-honey bee worker seem to be unstable
in managed situations where honey bee worker population is allowed to grow
unchecked. Experimental studies showed that tracheal mite population levels
increased in a managed honey bee colony but were impaired in one in which
brood rearing was interrupted by loss of the queen. Mite densities but not
prevalence were lowered in experimental swarms kept from rearing brood. We
propose that swarming reduces mite density within a colony, therefore
implicating modern techniques of hive management in the sudden historical
appearance of the mite on the Isle of Wight.


Reduction of tracheal mite parasitism of honey bees by swarming.
Royce LA, Rossignol PA, Burgett DM, Stringer BA.

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