Mel Disselkoen writes in a recent Bee Culture article:

> These colonies survived because the mites were reduced to a minimum by the 
> pause in brood rearing in the same way that Africanized bees survive the 
> mite and increase via frequent swarming. After the break in brood rearing, 
> when five-day-old larvae are again available for the fertile mite, all the 
> mites instinctually enter the cells simultaneously and are then trapped 
> when the cell is capped. The single larva isn't enough food for all the 
> mites trapped within the cell and all perish. The bees respond 
> hygienically by removing the carnage from the initial brood cycle. The 
> Varroa population is greatly reduced by this unexpected biological assault 
> to which It cannot become resistant.

He has written this before and I have wondered before, so I pose this 
question to the BEE-L Esteemed Experts (BEE):

Is the following true?  "all the mites instinctually enter the cells 
simultaneously and are then trapped when the cell is capped. The single 
larva isn't enough food for all the mites trapped within the cell and all 
perish. "

It seems questionable to me, especially the "all perish" part.

Comments?

 

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