Home▸Entomology & Insect Behaviour▸Rotating Acaricides: Slowing Varroa Resistance Before It Starts

🧪 Rotating Acaricides: Slowing Varroa Resistance Before It Starts

A 3D lab that grows a varroa mite population on a bee cluster and lets you compare repeating one acaricide against rotating treatment classes, watching resistance rise or stay suppressed.

Entomology & Insect Behaviour3DAdvanced60 FPS

A varroa mite population grows on a 3D bee cluster while you choose how treatments are scheduled — repeat one acaricide, or rotate through classes — and watch resistance climb or stay flat on the four resistance bars.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Each treatment only kills what its efficacy and the current resistance to that class allow; survivors push resistance to that specific chemical upward, while resistance to unused classes slowly decays from its fitness cost.

🎮 How to Use

Pick a rotation plan and treatment interval, then let time run (or click Treat now). Compare repeating one acaricide against rotating classes and watch how fast each bar rises — and how the mite population responds.

💡 Did You Know?

Documented pyrethroid and amitraz resistance in varroa populations is a major reason beekeeping extension programmes now recommend planned rotation across chemical classes rather than relying on a single product year after year.

⚙ Under the hood

A 3D lab that grows a varroa mite population on a bee cluster and lets you compare repeating one acaricide against rotating treatment classes, watching resistance rise or stay suppressed.

beesvarroaacaricidesmite resistancepestshoneybeeThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install