Finsky may be right that this has not been tested in studies, but it appears a study needs to be done. If it works, it works, whether or not a university scientist has done a study. (I do agree that studies are the best way to find out whether it does work.)
Varroa has been 30 years in Western Europe and 20-25 years in USA. In Russia the end of Soviet Union colapsed many things like beekeeping.
University scientists mean that they have skill to to work (like layers in the city court ) and
the State pays them fee that they can do work whole day and can use perhaps during their life their skills, They have opportunity to visit in other countries and get best information. They have tools like insemination instruments.
Scientifich researches means that you have a method and another guys follow that method and look, if they get same results. So we get general information. No need to invent same wheel. Or if you succeed in some thing, what was the reason. In Arizona they have succeed to get mite tolerant bees, but no one knows why? One good explanation is that it is a calm branch of Africanized race. That explanes that on industry level no one want to breed them further.
But first of all, beekeeping researchers do work which serves beekeeping and agricultural industry. Hobbiest applies what they want. It disturbes nothing.
The duty of researches is
to find all the time best practices.
Not methods which work, but best ones. They are developing all the time. The method must be relevant for honey production industry, because professionals do not get earnings by executing just activities. That is why Russian bees casted in early phase in practive to relieve out howit goes on industrial level.
There are tens of methods in use to handle mites. That is not question which work. The question is, which is best to use. Where you get information. Europe have made varroa researhes many years with hundreds of hives and now USA make same work 5 years later.
Varroa is so dangerous to my money purse that I do not want to sacrify my honey yield to "Virtual Evolution". I have knowledge and experience enough in this issue.
Maybe M. Bush's system works in mite question but in honey production level it seems to be invalid. He says that he has very small winter clusters. It means that bees have destroyed the worker cells which have varroa inside. So colony is too small in spring to make pollination duty or get good honey yield. Like it has been researched, if varroa contamination goes over certain limit, hives will not go on economical level. It is same with swarming or chalk brood. If you loose 20% of you workers, you cannot run you beekeeping business any more.
That guy with acetic acid says that he lost 18% of his hives. That is really bad because with better methods it should be lover.
Of course "every boy" may do his own studies. You reserve 20 hives for 3 years. When you leave some hives under mercy of mites or wether, you need not extract honey from those hives. Why hobby beekeeper make these thing when universtity beekeeprs have hundreds of hives and manoy to make what ever fool things. - Yes, and where are rearches studies? Often they get nothing from their researches. That is olso risk when you make new thigs. You get nothing.
In private companies when they start development projects to make better business, only 25% meet success. That is the backround when you doom people when they try something new.
To learn beekeeping that no bad surprises happen any more, it takes 3-5 years to learn for best guys, and most of hobbiest learn never and they give up.
The failure is a good place of learning. Often you accept failures as normal happenings, but some day when "cup of learning" is full, you decide to do something to your problem.
To me after these years the most difficult thing is to find best pastures for hives to get maximum yield. It is difficult every year. Mite is not problem at all. It is my friend. Mite protects that what ever bees will not mix my good genepool in my yards. 20 years ago it was very painfull to breed bees because drones from feral hives put upside down my achievements (German black race). It was a littel bit same as you have Africanized bees.
What
ndvan want to do, is beebreeding. It is not that you go to shop and get some small cel foundations.
.