Sustainable Varroa control: Investigating the impact of queen caging on mite dynamics and colony health

Pollinators such as Apis mellifera are important for agriculture, farming and food security. The parasitic mites, Varroa destructor, are one of the main factors for bee colony losses. Varroa mites are detrimental because the infestation can weaken the colonies and transmit bee viruses. Current ways to manage mites include using synthesized miticides or natural products. An alternative way to reduce mites is brood breaking. When the honeybee brood is paused because the queen is temporarily caged, the female mature mite cannot find a cell to hide and reproduce. The gap of knowledge is whether and how the caging method will affect the Varroa mite population. The hypothesis is that the caging of the queens will increase the efficacy of reducing the mite population with sustainability. Two treatments of this experiment are Formic Pro or caging the queen. Six colonies and queens were used for each treatment. We expect to compare the data of mite numbers from alcohol wash, bottom board collections, number of adult bees, percentages of brood area, pollen, and honey between two treatments after 1,2 or 3 weeks of treatments. Our results will shed light on a new sustainable way to manage varroa mites and maintain the health of bee colonies.