You may have spotted small articles in the press expressing guarded optimism that researchers at Aberdeen University and the National Bee Unit have worked out how to destroy the varroa mite – by getting it to self-destruct! But we will have to wait till 2015 / 2020 to see if my excitement is justified.

There is no need to remind you that the blood-sucking varroa is the biggest killer of honeybees worldwide and has developed resistance to medication over the past decade. Of significance to us this winter is that it thrives in the cold when colonies are more vulnerable while huddled together tightly to keep warm. Researchers from the NBU and Aberdeen University have worked out that by introducing harmless genetic material which encourages the mites’ own immune response to prevent their genes from expressing natural functions could make them self destruct.
Dr Giles Budge (one of the NBU researchers) comments: “The beauty of this approach is that it is environment-friendly, really specific and targets the mites without harming the bees or, indeed, any other animal. With appropriate support from industry and rigorous safety testing, chemical-free medicines could be available in five to ten years.”

The full (weighty) report can be read at: http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/3/1/73

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