Strange thought strange concept

[msduras]

Okay..(yes..it is me with the white russian)...I have an odd thought. I am basically a computer nerd with a medical background and look for cause and effect as everything ALWAYS has an answer eventually.

Regarding the Varroa Mites....I look at the treatments - Formic Acid....a naturally occuring chemical in ANTs. In my area, the red ants are erradicated as best we can..but WHAT IF...there is a relationship (or should be) with bees and ants we are not considering in the varroa mite battle. What if...there is a breed of ant that lives symbiotically with bees - i.e. the bees provide token honey comb..and the ants have their mounds around thehives.....formic acid...

It would seem to me..this should be a natural bond (not red ants of course)...the natural predator for varroa mites or the natural barrier for varroa mites and we have so over-exterminated..over-medicated...that we have succsesfully inhibited this natural bonding...has this ever been studied?:s

[KQ6AR]

I asked someone a similar question, & was told you couldn't get enough acid in the hive to help.

[Michael Bush]

I'm sure the ants eat some of the Varroa. They do leave a formic acid trail behind them, but hardly enough to kill the Varroa. The subject has been discussed. Try a search.

[summer1052]

I have been told that ants are very similar to bees in that they have similar colony structures, i.e., laying queens, workers with defined tasks, etc. They can swarm, abscond, and so on. They are social, too. Maybe that's a factor? :s

Summer