varroa attractant

[jmgi]

Whatever happened with the varroa attractant that was developed by the ARS in Gainesville a few years back, I read reports about it and how it appears to have worked pretty well, but I have not heard anything lately. John

[Lburou]

Well, it seems to be official, researchers have patented Varroa semiochemicals (signaling chemical cues that attract mites away from the larva and adult bees).


Here are the briefing slides outlining the research. They also mention a provisional patent in 2010 going final in August 2011!

I suppose everybody knew this but us, eh?

[jmgi]

Yes I read all that also, but this is 2012 and still no news on what happened to this attractant they developed. Surely someone knows more about this than I do.

[Jeanette]

Way back in 2009, the research leader for the varroa attractant was Peter Teal at ARS. A snippet in an article back then said, "the researchers hope ARS’s patenting of the Varroa attractants will encourage an industrial partner to develop the technology further..." http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archiv.../mites0709.htm It doesn't look like ARS was planning to produce the attractant commercially.

Fast forward to 2012 ... Peter Teal spoke at the North Central Florida Beekeepers Association's 2012 National Honey Bee Day event in Ocala, Florida about his research on semiochemical control of Varroa. The You Tube video has REALLY blurry audio so I couldn't make out what he said. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTICrzF0UWk. Sorry, I couldn't find anything more helpful.