Hi all
It is generally known that varroa mites increase exponentially in very large honey bee colonies and that colonies in temperate climates tend to reach much higher populations in these climates. 

I speculated 15 years ago that small to medium colonies might be less suscetible to varroa induced collapse than the very large colonies we tend to prefer up north. I mentioned the concept to Prof. --- and he scoffed at it. Very large colonies will always be more healthy than small ones, he said.

Tom Seeley has been actively promoting the idea of small hives (in one box or at most a deep and a medium) as an approach to ensure honey bee survival. Note: honey production is drastically reduced by this method. 

> the traditional way of beekeeping provides significantly better conditions for maintenance of bee health and their resistance to pathogens. -- Elmin Taric, & al (2019) 

> We found that colonies placed in Southern Europe tend to have lower adult bee populations compared to colonies placed in colder conditions -- Fani Hatjina, & al (2014)

> Feral nests of temperate and tropical bees differ in at least three major respects: nest size, amount of honey stored, and the building of nests outside of cavities. Feral European colonies are considerably larger than African or Africanized colonies -- Mark L. Winston, & al (1983)

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