On Wed, 13 Dec 2000, Eddy Lear wrote:
 On inspection I visited my
> hives again in February and was astounded not to find Varroa. On closer
> examination of the brood area I found an abnormal number of Bee scorpions
> (Ellingsenuis fulleri).

Donald Aitken queries:
The bee scorpions have been mentioned before in messages about Varroa.
Do they prey on Varroa or do they just live with them? Could they be a
possible biological control?

I cannot conclusively say they do as I have not seen the ones in my
observation hive eat anything yet.  I presume they do it while I'm asleep.
But, "Honey Bee Pests, Predators, & Diseases" ed by Roger Morse & Kim
Flottum on pg 236 says "..(Ellingsenius indicus)...this pseudo-scorpion can
be used as a bio indicator as to whether swarms of the Indian honeybee (Apis
cerana) have settled into a new homesite.  This pseudo-scorpion moves by
attaching to the legs of bees.  It does not feed on the bees themselves but
eats other arthropods such as mites and moths (Murthy and Venkataraman
1985)...  What I am certain about is that at present the hives I have
thoroughly inspected have no Varroa at all, just plenty bee scorpions.

Eddy Lear