A way to combat CBPV?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What's your understanding JBM of how hives become infected in the first place?

Your post on the dangers of shaking out an infected hive was an interesting read and makes a lot of sense but isn't the whole point to stop inter hive infection from shaken out stray displaced bees?

bees not ants

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The research thus far indicate direct transmission from adult bee to bee or contact with bee faeces. There is also indication that it's another virus that can be spread by varroa

 

[Wilco]

The papers also mentioned the virus being found in varroa which is a much more likely route to infection than the ants though.

Edit: JBM beat me to it.

 

[Karol]

The papers also mentioned the virus being found in varroa which is a much more likely route to infection than the ants though.

Edit: JBM beat me to it.

I get everything you say viz correlation and causation. That said don't ants defaecate? I would have thought infected ant faeces could act as a vector in the same way as bee faeces especially if they defaecate on/near the feed?

 

[Wilco]

I get everything you say viz correlation and causation. That said don't ants defaecate? I would have thought infected ant faeces could act as a vector in the same way as bee faeces especially if they defaecate on/near the feed?

At this point, transmission has not been demonstrated from ants to bees. That does not mean it doesn't happen but does mean that at this point, all this is conjecture. We have a theoretical route for transmission via two species which rarely come into direct contact in a way likely to be conducive to transmission and which does not seem to be consistently backed up by the experience of different beekeepers, particularly by the experience of those with significantly more than I. Conversely, there is a parasite which pretty much every UK colony has, which remains in direct contact with the bee, feeding directly off it and which has also been shown to have the virus plus others which bees suffer from. On the balance of probability, I reckon the latter is more likely to be the most significant of the two. If transmission from ants is proven and shown to be a significant issue then I'll certainly consider proactively excluding them but at present I don't think doing so is evidence led or an implicitly logical use of time and effort. One could also wonder whether the ants are infected by bees in their area rather than the other way around.

 

[Karol]

Ofcourse it's conjecture. How else is progress made without exploring the world around us. Varroa is (or should be) actively treated for already. I don't think it's wrong to take another potential vector into consideration if one has a diseased hive to further isolate that hive from other hives in the apiary. One simply takes one's own choices.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But you don't keep bees, so you won't be doing any 'exploring'

 

[holmbee]

The research thus far indicate direct transmission from adult bee to bee or contact with bee faeces. There is also indication that it's another virus that can be spread by varroa

interested to read any research as currently experiencing CBPV for first time. Grateful for any pointers to readable material.

 

[Frazer Munro]

interested to read any research as currently experiencing CBPV for first time. Grateful for any pointers to readable material.

To prevent virus (of any sort) have a look at doi.org/10.1073/pnas1303884110
The short answer is to ensure good nutrition.
Hope this helps.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Your link has nothing there

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

yeah, I'm sure nobody thought of 'good nutrition' when CBPV or AFB raged through a colony

 

[gmonag]

AFB is not caused by a virus

 

[Boston Bees]

Welcome to the forum Frazer.

Now, stop spouting unscientific bilge

 

[cwinte]

View attachment 27631

Back in post 40, I was trying a funnel system below the hive to keep the dying and mortician bees from the rest of the hive.

Time for a few notes on how this has gone so far...
Right from the start NO piles of dead bees out front any longer.
Hive still seems well and has had pollen coming in on warm days, quite full over brood and 2 supers (one was brood shallow before QX removed).
There is much more activity around the bottom of the funnel than I hoped for and it seems to be just another entrance for some bees. I have not found it easy to see what is going on in detail at ground level with the low light, long grass, stand and local obstacles. I suspect there are quite a number of dead bees hidden nearby but seemingly not in the piles I saw in late summer.

This is probably consistent with slow down and lower bee density in the hive.
The hive is well protected against cold and weather so I will leave it larger size (3 boxes) like this with a full super of honey for the winter. I think the real test will be if/how they survive the early summer peak - that is the time that my 2 other colonies died out.

 

[Wilco]

In fairness to Frazer he was talking about prevention rather than treatment and a healthy diet is recognised as useful for a well functioning immune system in a number of species, arguments about whether involvement of the immune system precludes defining something as preventative notwithstanding. (runs for cover)

However, I am confused as to what is specifically meant by this comment in a beekeeping context, particularly regarding CBPV, so @Frazer Munro if you have a working link to that reference I think we'd be interested to read/critique it.

 

[Apiarist]

To prevent virus (of any sort) have a look at doi.org/10.1073/pnas1303884110
The short answer is to ensure good nutrition.
Hope this helps.

Try this Link
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3670375/if you don't want to use the doi reference provided.

Thanks Frazer for providing this, it's very interesting.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Interesting snippet

p-coumaric acid may find use as an additive to honey substitutes to allow beekeepers to maintain colonies during food shortages without compromising the ability of their bees to defend themselves against the pesticides and pathogens that currently bedevil beekeeping in the United States.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think the last sentence is enough for me to make a judgement on that piece.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes I think normally our bees get a good selection of pollen and they certainly don’t get fed anything but sugar for energy.
I have occasionally used Ultrabee but not often.
The Honey Monitoring scheme is including pesticide analysis this year so I would be interested in their results, not just for me but generally.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

Just planning how best to do "the drop"...
Collects and somewhat hides the dead...

I spread a bag of sand on the ground below an infected colony. It seemed a hygienic thing to do, covering up the decomposed bees I hadn't been able to remove, and making it easier to spot any further drop of dead bees.

At first, there seemed to be very few dead bees, then after a couple of weeks, I noticed a pile of decomposing bees at the edge of the sand. Presumably the bees had dragged them to the edge of the sand, and in so doing have possibly nullified any benefit of the removed floor. The colony is still quite large. I'll continue to monitor.