Miracle cure

The St Louis Post-Dispatch thinks that someone is breeding varroa-resistant bees. And the queens cost only $12 each.

Spivak developed the new strain using Italian bees selected for their ability to clean their hives of mite infestations. Jansen's new bees also contain a genetic trait, developed by government scientists in Baton Rouge, La., that allows them to halt the mites' reproduction after the tiny invaders move into their hives. It's unclear how the trait works.

Oh that it were true! Certainly work has been going on at Baton Rouge, but the claims they make are quite modest.