>   In field trials, late-summer
> supplementation of colonies with sunflower pollen reduced mite infestation
> by 2.75-fold relative to artificial pollen.
>

I read Randy's experiments with OA/ glycerin  pads and strips, which I am
going to try, and a comment by him on how OA might work reminded me of how
the tracheal Crisco patties probably worked. The patties' odor was
transferred to the bees and tracheal mites were not able to identify young
bees to transfer to so they stayed with the old bee and died with the bee.
Randy wondered, since OA damaged the mite's sensors, if odor also had an
effect on their ability to distinguish between bees to transfer to. And now
we have sunflower pollen interfering with Varroa. Could it be the
particular odor of sunflower pollen?

One Varroa treatment is Thymol, another odor changer.

Nurse bees do have their own odor which they would pick up from the larva
and both Tracheal and Varroa might use that as a trigger to latch on to
them.For Tracheal it is a marker for a young bee and for Varroa the right
bee to get to larva.

There are enough blocks there to propose a hypothesis. So there may be
other avenues to limit Varroa.

Personally, I think, like Randy, that OA has a multitude of effects on the
mite so it still will be my primary weapon against the mite. But I will
continue to slap on Crisco Patties to, hopefully, make their lives a little
more difficult.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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