I am adding my opinion. I fully respect and sympathize with the idea of chemical free. There we are in total agreement! When discussing brood break, there are things that I recognize which must or should, be considered. I will express some of these considerations, concerns, and thoughts here, now. Hopefully you can quench these concerns. As I said, I would love to be chemical free also, even though the chemicals that I use are organic.
Wikipedia
>Consequently, female mites living when brood is present in the colony have an average life expectancy of 27 days, yet in the absence of brood, they may live for many months. <
If that is true, will the mites not return straight bank to the business of breeding and reproducing just as soon as the queen is reintroduced and larva is once again present?
How are these mites able to live many months without brood to feed on and as a tool to multiply? I will tell you. By attaching to adult bees, kind of like ticks do to humans. Varroa mites attach On the underside of their host, our bees abdomen If you will. Feeding on fat bodies causing irreversible damage. Mr Van explained a while back that these fat bodies were similar to the functions of a liver in some creatures. This material that they feed on is discarded as white specs. An obvious indication of the mites feeding on organ material.
Varroa cause many problems in bees. Lessens their immune system, making them more susceptible to the effects of pesticides, virus, and bacteria. So even if brood is taken away from bees, damage is still being done to existing adult bees by varroa as the adult bees are host to adult varroa, Varroa Destructor.
i.e. (Adult bees which are not being replaced because brood has been taken away.) Considering this and added up, will this mean a weaker hive, less honey and more danger for the hive?
It not only means there are no new bees coming in, (brood has been taken away), but existing, infected, already short lived bees are having their very short life, shortened even faster, (sucked away) literally. As Dr Ramsey has stated, adult varroa destructor move from host to host, meaning bee to bee as one bee after another is damaged and depleted.
Even if bees did not have to contend with the many side effects of varroa, Viruses, bacteria, and a weakened immune system. Just the damage done by Varroa alone to the bees fat body membranes would still be too much to put up with in my opinion.
Added to this already mentioned, let's not forget mites can live months, bees do not, (Unless during winter). So how can mites live for months if the hive is weakened, even to the point of being wiped out? By hitching a free ride by robber bees to new homes (plural), homes loaded with fresh brood and the vicious cycle cranks up full steam again at brand new mite (hotels). Plural
I do not see how the theory of brood break Treatment holds water, (Not much of a benefit), Especially after hearing the detailed video of Dr Samuel Ramsey, the scientist that discovered varroa live on bee fat body membrane, not bee blood.