Varroa Destructor; the Mite from Hell

In this episode, we get into this history of varroa destructor. Varroa mite (Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni) is a parasite of adult honey bees and honey bee brood. It weakens and kills honey bee colonies and can also transmit honey bee viruses. Varroa laid bare the reality of the weaknesses around how honeybees had been reared for the previous decades prior to its introduction into the United States, and we discuss examples of treatment-free solutions from Cuba to Sweden. What would we need to do here in the United States to find a solution for mites, and how realistic is it?
 
On a lighter note, we discuss why we should take more lessons from Jerry Seinfield in Bee Movie. Also, what would a bee Jurassic Park look like?
 
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Sources:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-015-0412-8 1
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356682762_Global_similarity_and_some_key_differences_in_the_metagenomes_of_Swedish_varroa-surviving_and_varroa-susceptible_honeybees 2
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364129015_Evaluating_the_Effect_of_Plants_Extracts_Against_Varroa_Mites_Varroa_Destructors_of_Honeybees_Apis_Mellifera 3
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360420665_Promiscuous_feeding_across_multiple_honey_bee_hosts_amplifies_the_vectorial_capacity_of_Varroa_destructor 4
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363613592_Recapping_and_mite_removal_behaviour_in_Cuba_home_to_the_world%27s_largest_population_of_Varroa-resistant_European_honeybees 5
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363325544_Migratory_beekeeping_facilitates_genetic_admixture_in_populations_of_the_honeybee_parasite_Varroa_destructor 6
 
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353118073_Effect_of_Using_Drone_Brood_Cells_as_Traps_Against_Varroa_destructor_Varroa_Mite 7
 
https://beekeep.info/a-treatise-on-modern-honey-bee-management/managing-diseases-and-pests/varroa-short-history/ 8
 
https://beekeep.info/a-treatise-on-modern-honey-bee-management/managing-diseases-and-pests/varroa-short-history/the-promise-of-rnai-interference/ 9
 
https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-020-07363-7 10
 
https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-6a/