Bob Harrison writes:

>Acetic acid readily breaks down . the hard covering (Chitin) which is made
>up of  calcium which is the hard shell of the varroa mite.
>True or false varroa researchers?

    It's been a long time, but if my memory serves me right, chitin is a
complex organic substance, rather than calcium, which also forms the hard
exoskeleton of bees. That doesn't mean it won't necessarily be damaged by
organic acids such as acetic (formic, lactic and oxalic obviously do
something to the mite). Many invertebrates, including some arthropods such as
crabs, do use calcium in their exoskeletons, but I would have thought some
other mechanism would be at work here. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Regards,

Robert Brenchley

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