On Wed Nov 23, W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper <[log in to unmask]>  wrote
 
[a nice discussion on natural vs allopathic control of bee diseases]
>
>Of course the ideal solution is to encourage the mites to mutate to become
>beneficial to the bees, while outcompeting the present strain.  And, since
>Christmas is coming, it would be nice to have a strain of AFB that boosted
>honey production.
 
I would like to expand on this concept further. Has there been any research
done with artificially sterilizing a population of mites to control their
population in a hive?  I remember seeing a film on the sterilization
control the swarms of locusts in Africa. Is there a part of the life cycle
in varroa that is controllable or at which point they are vulnerable to
allopathic or natural intervention?
 
Paul Cronshaw DC
Hobbyist Beekeeper
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