At Nate’s Hives, we believe that the health of the honey bee is the foundation of the entire honey industry. We aren’t just interested in the honey that ends up on your table; we are invested in the long-term survival of the pollinators that make it all possible. That is why we established the Nate’s Hives Research Grant Program – a commitment to funding the innovative scientists working on real-world, data-backed solutions for beekeepers across the country. Nate’s Hives Research Grant Program is proud to support a research project from Auburn University that tackles one of the greatest threats to hives today: the Varroa destructor mite.

Meet the Team of Scientists at the Auburn Bee Center

This project is led by a dynamic team at the Auburn University Bee Center, a world-class facility within the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. The center is dedicated to addressing the urgent need to protect bees through interdisciplinary research, collaborative extension and student engagement.

Dr. Brandon Shannon, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, is the lead researcher of this study. With an extensive background involving honey bees and Varroa, he is responsible for the hands-on development of procedures, data collection and translating experimental results into actionable solutions for beekeepers.

Dr. Geoff Williams, Professor & Bee Center Director, is providing the high-level supervision and expertise required for a project of this scale. His leadership ensures the research is grounded in the current realities of commercial and hobbyist beekeeping.

The “Mite-y” Challenge of Resistance

Beekeepers currently face a major crisis: pesticide resistance from Varroa mites. For decades, the primary defense against Varroa has been the use of synthetic miticides. Unfortunately, because these mites reproduce quickly and encounter these chemicals frequently, they have evolved. Resistance to all registered synthetic products in the U.S. is now prevalent, meaning the tools beekeepers once relied on are losing their edge.

Organic miticides, such as thymol (a natural compound found in thyme), offer a promising alternative. Because of the compound’s complex mode of action, mites have a low risk of developing resistance. Yet, organic pesticides often struggle to match the reliability and consistency of their synthetic counterparts.

Supercharging Organic Treatments with Adjuvants

Drs. Shannon and Williams proposed a clever solution inspired by other agricultural disciplines: the use of adjuvants. In farming, adjuvants are “co-formulants” added to a pesticide product to improve its performance, helping it spread better, stick longer or penetrate the cuticles of targeted pests more effectively.

The Auburn University team is developing a novel formulation of thymol combined with organic adjuvants that have already demonstrated a high margin of safety for honey bees. The ultimate goal is to deliver this supercharged thymol through an extended-release strip (using Swedish Sponges), making it both more effective and easier for beekeepers to apply during their regular hive rotations.

The Scientific Journey

The Nate’s Hives grant supports a rigorous, three-stage research workflow:

• Exploratory formulation: The team will test approximately 100 combinations of thymol and various organic adjuvants. They are looking for emulsification, ensuring the ingredients mix perfectly and stay stable across different temperatures (from 36°F to 98°F), both in solution and when adhered to the Swedish Sponge.
• Cage trials: The 16 most promising mixtures move to bee and mite testing. Using screened cages and groups of 300 honey bees (infested with Varroa), mite drop and bee mortality will be monitored. This allows the researchers to identify which combinations maximize mite “knockdown” while maintaining honey bee safety.
• Colony-level field trials: The two most effective formulations will move to a realistic colony scenario. Using 20 full-sized colonies at the Auburn Bee Center, the new formulations will be compared to a negative control (no treatment) and a currently registered thymol product. Using alcohol washes, sticky boards and dead bee traps, the researchers will compare the speed and efficacy of the new formulations to currently registered thymol treatments.

Why This Matters for the Future of Beekeeping

If successful, this research will provide beekeepers with a reliable, affordable and convenient organic rotation option. By making thymol more effective through smart formulation chemistry, Auburn University can reduce the reliance on failing synthetics and slow the overall development of mite resistance.

At Nate’s Hives, we are grateful for the opportunity to support the Auburn University Bee Center through our grant program. By funding research like this, we are helping to translate cutting-edge science into boots-on-the ground solutions that keep our honey bees – and our food system – thriving.