The Danish beekeeping association has a list of their top four reasons for declining bee populations (both honeybees and wild bees). None of them are mites. Multiple experiments and analysis of abandoned beehives show time and time again that the bees will develop coping mechanisms against varroa mites if we let them.

All four reasons are linked to a decline habitats suitable for bees.

* Lose of natural habitats.

* Fertilization close to natural habitats causes grass to grow and outcompete bee friendly plants.

* Herbicides are killing flowers.

* Pesticides hurt wild bees (honeybees to a less extend).

What is killing bees more rapidly than anything is modern farming. When you see farmers, especially those in the US, needing to truck around bees it should be abundantly clear that something has gone very wrong. Massive fields and orchards with a single crop is no place for a bee, they simply have no food for the majority of the year. What do we expect bees to do with 50 acres of corn or wheat? To a bee that might as well be a desert.