NatureAlley

A paper I read (but forgot the refs, very sorry) is maybe worth mentioning. The summer heat waves of the past few years here and there saw a reduction in some viruses in bees as well as reduced numbers of deformed wings.

Thanks for your response, James. As far as I am aware from research I was involved in sideways heat shock proteins, HSP70 being a dominant one, are produced temporarily in all kinds of organisms, including humans, as a result from stress (such as heat exposure) and their function has been related to relieving the stress that triggers their production. HSP production drops back gradually after the stress factor has been removed. So you are correct to be cautious, it is not a mutation, it is merely a temporary conditional expression. I am convinced HSP are are not something to worry about.

As a biologist I am interested in physical treatment instead of chemical.. I am a hobbyist, and being retired I do have time but even so squashing each individual Varroa specimen manually is no option ?. Inspired by the equipment for hyperthermia treatment as it was developed at the University of Tübingen in the 80's and by the results claimed I looked at equipment and prices. The price of a decent instrument that ensures homogeneous temperature distribution and controlled humidity (in EU about €2500 for a 20 frame unit) is in my opinion prohibitive for hobbyists and I agree with PeterS that s

Most people accept every science based fact as long as it suits them, except when t comes to climate change.

So recognisable!

I have no experience yet, but thought give it a try. Did you perhaps heat the wax up way above the melting temperature? It looses its yellow colour that way and bees may not recognise it anymore as 'their' wax. Your foundation layer looks a bit pale. Might be just the picture...