Frame Spacing reduces Drones, Swarming & Varroa???

[B+.]

Varroa Selective Hygiene - disrupts the reproductive cycle of the varroa mite
a. Detect infested larvae
b. Uncap infested larvae
c. Remove infested larvae
d. selection involves testing for hygienic behavior and removal of infested larvae

Surely, you mean pupae?

 

[B+.]

Superinfection exclusion - A variant of DWV that is less virulent protects infected bees from other strains.
a. Identified in a British apiary after years of breeding from survivor colonies.
b. Selection is by breeding from survivors that live with large mite populations.

I've never understood why other bees in the area didn't acquire this virus.

Something smells fishy with this theory

 

[foghornleghorn]

I've never understood why other bees in the area didn't acquire this virus.

Something smells fishy with this theory

Would it be like pulling weeds in a flowerbed? Even though the flowers persist, they never seem to spread (obviously with a few exceptions)

 

[B+.]

Would it be like pulling weeds in a flowerbed? Even though the flowers persist, they never seem to spread (obviously with a few exceptions)

If there was a virus, it should spread by contact (drones are accepted and fed by any colony, robbers would come into contact with workers, brood, food, etc)

 

[Finman]

.
At least Fusion plans and calculations are the most complicated.
.

 

[domino]

I've never understood why other bees in the area didn't acquire this virus.

Something smells fishy with this theory

Because the A variant dominates the B variant. Almost every place where the A and B strain exists together with the A strain eventually dominates that population.

I've never seen this as a credible method for handling varroa. For a start, you need to be able to extract and sequence RNA to know if you have that strain of DWV. That's if we forget no one has a viable way to introduce it into a population as a treatment.

 

[B+.]

Because the A variant dominates the B variant. Almost every place where the A and B strain exists together with the A strain eventually dominates that population.

I've never seen this as a credible method for handling varroa. For a start, you need to be able to extract and sequence RNA to know if you have that strain of DWV. That's if we forget no one has a viable way to introduce it into a population as a treatment.

But.....his drones must mate with local virgin queens.....so, it would spread to the neighbouring bees. Why doesn't it? There is something wrong here....the story we're being told makes no sense.....if it were a virus, it would spread.

 

[Finman]

.I wonder how guys see and identyfies those viruses?

 

[foghornleghorn]

But.....his drones must mate with local virgin queens.....so, it would spread to the neighbouring bees. Why doesn't it? There is something wrong here....the story we're being told makes no sense.....if it were a virus, it would spread.

Just because it spreads doesn't mean it will be dominant.

 

[domino]

But.....his drones must mate with local virgin queens.....so, it would spread to the neighbouring bees. Why doesn't it? There is something wrong here....the story we're being told makes no sense.....if it were a virus, it would spread.

It is competing against the A strain in the same population. Whenever they compete, apart from rare instances, the A strain simply out-competes the B strain.

The evidence is that through some mechanism varroa is spreading the more virulent strain of DWV. Even if there are strains DWV A replaces them in a short time.

This was seen in a study on Hawaii. http://www.thecre.com/forum2/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/CCD-Science-Martin.pdf

 

[domino]

.I wonder how guys see and identyfies those viruses?

They sequence the RNA. Doesn't your local beekeeping club have access to a genetics lab?

 

[Beefriendly]

It is not. This can be shown by very low varroa counts at any time of year.

Do call me a pedant but! the low counts could suggest that a strategy of frequent swarming was effective in bees surviving untreated for varroa. And swarming whilst numbers of mite is low would be expected for an efficient survival mechanism. Only swarming when mites levels were high would be ineffective....think about it.
Unless you are doing very frequent alcohol washes /sugar drops it would be difficult to estimate mite population dynamics. Drone brood alone is not the magnet for varroa that the books suggest it is....I rarely find varroa infected drones, yet can find high levels of varroa in a colony.
Not saying this is the case for your bees.

 

[Beefriendly]

If there was a virus, it should spread by contact (drones are accepted and fed by any colony, robbers would come into contact with workers, brood, food, etc)

Yes, but if every other beekeeper around the area was treating for varroa it's effect of masking the virulent DWV would go undetected.
Their bees might all might have lots of "Swindon dominant virus" but the beekeepers don't know that. Perhaps the testing should have included nearby colonies...until it is done you or no-body else knows if the benign form has spread....and if it has spread perhaps it requires non treatment for varroa for it to become dominant?
Who knows; they were by all accounts pretty useless bees if you wanted some decent amounts of honey at the end of the season, or so I'm told.

 

[B+.]

Perhaps the testing should have included nearby colonies...until it is done you or no-body else knows if the benign form has spread....and if it has spread perhaps it requires non treatment for varroa for it to become dominant?

Exactly!

 

[Beefriendly]

Exactly!

So there might not be anything wrong with the dominant benign virus theory if its spread was found in nearby colonies?
Although as an effective strategy for coping with a debilitating parasite it's up there with sickle cell anemia and malaria. Works, but a very desperate trait to survive a parasite.

 

[Fusion_power]

Do call me a pedant but! the low counts could suggest that a strategy of frequent swarming was effective in bees surviving untreated for varroa.

Yep, pedant. I am preventing my bees from swarming. Just because they initiate swarming does not mean I allow them to complete the process.

 

[Beefriendly]

Ummm...different complexion to problem, but does it involves a brood break?

 

[domino]

Exactly!

That wasn't the terms of reference of the study.

 

[B+.]

So there might not be anything wrong with the dominant benign virus theory if its spread was found in nearby colonies?
Although as an effective strategy for coping with a debilitating parasite it's up there with sickle cell anemia and malaria. Works, but a very desperate trait to survive a parasite.

Don't get me wrong. I won't be investing any of my energy into it. It's just that I can't believe a virus can be managed so easily

 

[domino]

So there might not be anything wrong with the dominant benign virus theory if its spread was found in nearby colonies?

The study was to understand why the Swindon bees seemed to be able to cope with DWV. The findings where that strain B was so overwhelming dominate that it didn't allow the more damaging A strain to take hold.

They don't know why, but, they do acknowledge that in an atypical environment that the A strain outcompetes the B strain almost every time.

They cite studies which show that varroa predominantly carries strain A.