Evolution requires some sort of mutation and/or selection to be successful to change and adapt to a set of circumstances.

Insecticide/ miticide/ physical resistance as a general "rule"  can be approached if over 90 % of a population is killed for about 20 generations. This requires a population which is contained and does not disperse or is diluted.

As stated in an earlier post, cross resistance can short cut this time by 3-4 fold due to overlapping sites of activity.

Cross resistance has been demonstrated with pyrethroids and phosphates and carbamates.

Critters can resist acids by possibly selecting for thicker or more acid resistant  "skins" oils by some other means.

On the plus side,  the bees might be selected for more hygienic physical behavior as in some wild species. Other traits could develop such as thicker "joints" on the bees that resist attack by mites. Most of these traits will probably happen naturally in 10,000 years.  FUND THE BREEDERS.

Apple tree mites, honeybee mites, and other critters that do not readily migrate off the host. Some other examples are potato beetles  or corn in a large concentrated growing areas where the pests remain in the general area and have few alternate hosts.



I have faith that the mites will continue to be selected for survivors ( those that have the necessary gene or mutate) to overcome the selection pressure.  This , IMHO will also include, all miticides whether pyrethroids, phosphates, acids, oils etc. And will probably also adapt to any breeding program IN TIME.



Not to despair,  with careful alternation of treatments, stable resistance, where all the population is treated to the very end so  that ALL the population will have the resistant gene. we can alternate treatments so that the resistant gene is again overwhelmed by the non resistant gene and the original treatment again works.



The problem is that we do not have a ready arsenal of treatments to alternate, including breeding. 

However, we are living "hand to mouth" in that we push the available treatments to their limits and risk stable resistance and losing that alternative.



Dan Veilleux

In the mountains of NC


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