>  ...  Is it simply the hives periodically get so hot that the heat kills mites just like the new treatment device 

I so appreciate this conversation, chiming in from Los Angeles County California here and just want to clearly state that my treatment-free friends absolutely experience losses from mites. Africanized honey bees here do not survive across the board although it is true that they have a somewhat higher tolerance for varroa. 

But there is a steep price- it cannot be discounted that Anyone keeping AHB’s here experiences losses from temperament. Colonies must be often be put down because their temperament is unacceptable. I count that against the “varroa-tolerant” characterization. 

Ruth
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