Varroa has become a substantial issue in North America, South America, Europe and New Zealand. Without human intervention most bee colonies would collapse within 2-3 years. The varroa destructor is the main pest affecting honeybees in all stages of their lifecycle, particularly in the larvae stage which inflicts the bee with viruses.

Beekeepers currently have three types of treatments at their disposal, synthetic chemicals, organic chemicals, and biotechnological methods. However, they all have limitations. Synthetic chemicals are the preferred method for commercial and many non-commercial beekeepers because of their convenience. This has led to the frequent use of these chemicals, often without the use of alternatives, which in turn led to the rise of chemical-resistant mites, in particular in the USA and Europe. Products that used to be beekeepers’ silver bullet are now ineffective. Even in New Zealand, where synthetic chemicals have worked well so far, mite resistance to flumethrin is being reported and expected to become widespread in the next few years. Pheromite aims to develop a novel treatment to treat the varroa mite and increase stability in bee health and honey production.