I think Mr. Ramsey's research has already changed how we think about Varroa and will continue to do so.   In tests they conducted where Varroa were provided only bee hemolymph, the varroa were dead in a matter of hours and reproduced very little if any.   When the varroa were provided "harvested fat bodies", the Varroa lived the entire period of the 7 day study, plus they reproduced during this time as well.

It is summarized in the below 3 minute video, which by the way reveals the past thought of the varroa mites lived off of hemolymph was never really proven.

https://youtu.be/Fyfyj-2O47Q

He also has several hour+ videos.

My question is, does a Varroa detach from a dead bee or do they continue to harvest the fat bodies of the bee until the fat bodies are expended.

Doing an alcohol wash on dead bees might provide some insight as to the answer and it something I will try on the next dead out I deconstruct and process (dismantle, clean up and recycle for use in the Spring).   

Steve Petrilli
Central Illinois

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