There's a company called, Greenlight Biosciences, that's developing an RNA-based pesticide for Varroa Mites. Last I spoke with the CEO, he mentioned positive results from trials.
That's cool, in a "better living through chemistry", 1950s man-in-a-white-labcoat sort of way. But when it comes to this stuff, I tend to be a bit like Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park: they're so focused on whether they could, that they never considered if they should.
Probably the better solution here is to stop trying to do industrial farming of bees, and move to a system where local populations of pollinators are cultivated and maintained year round. But sure, RNAi is probably better than the chemicals they're using now.
Probably the better solution here is to stop trying to do industrial farming of bees, and move to a system where local populations of pollinators are cultivated and maintained year round. But sure, RNAi is probably better than the chemicals they're using now.