4: Elimination of the Varroa destructor

The Varroa Destructor up close.

The  Varroa destructor is a leading factor in CCD (Colony collapse disorder) thought to be eliminated in Australia.  Currently, in order to fight the V. Destructor we usually use chemicals. Unfortunately, this isn't very effective as the mite has grown resistance to some of the chemicals. Some beekeepers choose to cover their bees in icing (powdered) sugar as then they become dusty, making it hard for the mite to latch onto the bee. This method is effective for small colonies but not for wide scale, commercial use, nor actually killing the parasitic mite.
   "It has been known for decades amongst beekeepers that the only weakness of the Varroa mite is high temperature. If we expose the mite to the temperature of 40°C to 47°C  for around 150 minutes, the mite is killed. That is valid for all the development stages of the Varroa destructor mite." -  Thermosolar Hive researchers.

    "The brood and mites can be killed by ... scraping, freezing, heating, or treating with formic acid." - Randy Oliver, a beekeeping biologist.

During this process, water would need to be supplied to the bees, as with these high temperatures, they can become dehydrated quickly. The phrase 'busy bee' didn't come from nowhere! Bees never stop moving, they only slow down and the dehydration could affect hive activity.

    This table was an experiment, testing how temperature affected the Varroa Jacobsoni. Written by John R. Harbo, in 2000.
"Bees do not survive for two days at 42C (Harbo, 1993) but they can survive even higher temperatures for shorter periods" - A direct quote from Harbo's conclusion.

   I was hoping, that as these mites are closely related we could use this information about the V.Jacobsoni and compare it to try to eliminate the more destructive V.Destructor.

Sources:Thermosolar Hive, Randy Oliver, Too hot for bees and Harbo's Report