After a long career electro-geeking for R&D labs in the electronic industry Mike has checked out of the rat race & moved to the woods. Not entirely off grid but trying to achieve that goal. He raises a few animals & enjoys growing healthy food in various gardens. He is a life long nature lover, adventure seeker, & to a certain extent a minimalist. Eventually bears will probably eat him & turn him into compost. He is ok with that.
Something else that supposedly helps is screened hive bottoms with the hive body sitting on black rocks or asphalt. It is said the varro fall through & lay eggs on the black material which cooks them because it is too hot. I have never actually tried it but it does seem plausible.
Some people use insect foggers filled with mineral oil instead of insecticide. I think all that does is make the bees slippery & has minimal effect on the varroa mites since most of the varroa are inside capped cells. It's also a good way to start an unintentional fire.
Unfortunately that is something almost all beekeepers do ever since the colony collapse disorder became so common. I have done it once or twice but ultimately stopped. I decided the survival of the fittest method was best for all concerned. However I had many colonies in several different locations & could afford to lose some once in a while. It is easy enough to make splits to replace any that are lost.
That being said ... I think with a single swarm of unknown origin it might be best to treat them the first year. I'd suggest waiting a few weeks until they accept their new hive & start building it out & developing brood. Otherwise they might abscond because that stuff smells truly awful. If you do treat be sure to wear appropriate nose, mouth, & eye protection.
I would suggest opening once or twice a month until you know they are progressing well. That will also get you comfortable doing it. After that it doesn't need to be opened as often. The less the better within reason.
I have heard of people doing this & the videos look cool. I'm not sure how one could do a thorough hive inspection with one though. I'd also be concerned about using wireless technology. Bees are sensitive creatures.
Rain is coming this weekend so going out to check on my guerilla gardens tomorrow. Which brought up the subject of gorilla songs. Guerilla, gorilla, get it? There are a lot of songs for kids about monkeys. Not so many for adults. I can only think of one other monkey song. I was the young teen target age for that one but I was into Janis & Jimi by then. I will never intentionally listen to anything that lame. Some of these are marginal too. Good for a laugh though.
This might be what you are requesting. All the BB's.
The main thing on all of them is good documentation. Take many pictures. Before, during, & after. That will cover a large percentage of the requirements.
