>Hummm! I can't recall a single mainstream bee article, that originated
>in the US, that promoted  any of the  above alternative  methods
>before  1998.

How about:

Smoking out bee mites
Agricultural Research,  August, 1997  by Sean Adamas

Beekeepers have a long-established practice of using smoke to calm their
bees before opening the hive. Now U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists
have found another potential benefit from smoke: Some plants, when burned,
give off natural chemicals that control honey bee mites.

Frank A. Eischen, an entomologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service
in Weslaco, Texas, has found that smoke from certain plants either kills
varroa mites or causes them to fall off the bees.

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