Innovative Thermostatic Composites for Hyperthermic Eradication of Varroa Mites from Honey Bee Colonies

"Einstein is sometimes misquoted as saying If bees disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live. There is no doubt that the honey bee is a very important pollinator of human food in addition to the hive products of honey and bees wax that they produce. In recent decades a new phenomenon, known as colony collapse disorder, has resulted in the loss of many honey bee colonies across the globe. Whilst there is no single known cause for this, it is thought that the rise in the presence of a parasitic mite, known as the Varroa mite, has played a significant role.

Beekeepers must regularly treat hives infested with the Varroa mite to prevent their eventual death which in untreated colonies are unlikely to survive more than two years. At the moment this is done with various chemical treatments which can be found in the honey and bees wax posing a potential concern to food safety. There are also treatments based on essential oils such as oil of thyme which whilst suitable for human consumption, leave a taint in the honey so are restricted to the time of year when they can be used.

It has been known for several years that these Varroa mites are killed at a lower temperature than that which honey bees are able to survive without negative health effects. This process is known as hyperthermia and has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment method. The systems which are currently available however require beekeepers to interfere excessively with the bees by moving parts of their hives to treatment stations or to use different hive designs to those which have become standard.

For the hyperthermia method to become mainstream it requires a simple system that works with existing hives, does not require the removal of the brood frames and can be used off grid where mains electricity is not available. This project will deliver an innovative design of equipment for hyperthermic eradication of Varroa mites from honey bee colonies that will only require connection to a standard 12V battery."