fungus that kills Varroa mites

[bobba]

Hi everyone.

I hope you all got lots of honey and had a good season.


https://bigthink.com/life/fungus-varroa/
I only heard bout this recently, sorry if its old news and I am last to the party.

My suspension is that it wont completely wipe out a population of mites on its own. But combined with other treatments its the first real glimmer of hope.

I know a lot of research has been done on a fungi that kills aphids called the Pandora Aphid Fungus. It will wipe out 99%+ of an Aphid population, and suppress them for the rest of the season. So hopefully this new veroha fungi will have a similar hard hitting long lasting effect.

Treating for mites was the only bit of bee keeping that I realy disliked, so it would be wonderful if a practical alternative to vaping could be found.

 

[blackcloud]

Think I'm sticking with the sea salt for now..

 

[JamezF]

Think I'm sticking with the sea salt for now..

If you add a few rhubarb leaves I reckon you'll kill twice as many mites.

James

 

[blackcloud]

I've heard that putting a sheet of mesh under will make them all to fall through and not be able to get back in.

 

[Delgirl]

You will always get those types of responses I am afraid Bobba. Let the studies continue. I, for one, believe that any scientific efforts that may help with this blight on our bees should be applauded whatever the outcome.

 

[Frizzaldo]

if Dipel works for wax moth it's not beyond the bounds of possibility

 

[pargyle]

Hi everyone.

I hope you all got lots of honey and had a good season.


https://bigthink.com/life/fungus-varroa/
I only heard bout this recently, sorry if its old news and I am last to the party.

My suspension is that it wont completely wipe out a population of mites on its own. But combined with other treatments its the first real glimmer of hope.

I know a lot of research has been done on a fungi that kills aphids called the Pandora Aphid Fungus. It will wipe out 99%+ of an Aphid population, and suppress them for the rest of the season. So hopefully this new veroha fungi will have a similar hard hitting long lasting effect.

Treating for mites was the only bit of bee keeping that I realy disliked, so it would be wonderful if a practical alternative to vaping could be found.

I applaud anyone who seeks to find a non-chemical 'silver bullet' to inhibit varroa infestations .. as you know, the closest we have come, so far, is OA by sublimation but I accept that some people are cautious about that is potentially harmful to the beekeeper.

Unfortunately, as the study admits, lab results are difficult to replicate in real beekeeping as the environment that the bees like is not conducive to keeping the fungus alive.

Hopefully, time will tell and someone will eventually find the silver bullet .. a passive treatment that kills mites instantly with absolutely no effect on the bees. Probably not in my lifetime I'm afraid ...

 

[JamezF]

You will always get those types of responses I am afraid Bobba. Let the studies continue. I, for one, believe that any scientific efforts that may help with this blight on our bees should be applauded whatever the outcome.

I'd suggest that people were just having a little bit of a joke given the unusual nature of the treatment.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. There seems to be reason to believe it's based on reliable science given that the original paper was published in Nature. I am however slightly concerned about this quote from the original report:

"Hives treated with Metarhizium survived significantly longer than untreated hives, although 42 of the 48 hives succumbed to Varroa, pathogen pressure, and intense yellow jacket predation by the end of year two."

They suggest (without evidence that I can see in a brief scan through the report) that it's ultimately due to re-infestation by varroa from untreated colonies, but that those colonies should be weak enough after treatment to die as a result of wasp attacks doesn't really seem like a good result.

James

 

[JamezF]

if Dipel works for wax moth it's not beyond the bounds of possibility

Ultimately Dipel relies on a bacterium that has evolved to parasitise the larvae of certain species of butterfly and moth after being eaten. All that the use of Dipel does is make it more likely that host and parasite will come into contact and then nature takes its course.

In this case the fungus wasn't effective against Varroa because although it had the potential to kill them, it hadn't evolved to survive in temperatures similar to those found inside a hive (specifically around the brood nest, I'd imagine). What the researchers are attempting to do is to "forcibly evolve" a variant of the fungus that can survive in those conditions and then find some means of getting that fungus into contact with the mites such that it will have the opportunity to kill them.

It's a somewhat different proposition.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What the researchers are attempting to do is to "forcibly evolve" a variant of the fungus that can survive in those conditions and then find some means of getting that fungus into contact with the mites such that it will have the opportunity to kill them

maybe develop an ointment you can rub onto the bees?
Anyway, must rush - have to finish harvesting and packaging this year's bumper crop of magic beans ready for the Christmas stocking filler market

 

[Frizzaldo]

I'd suggest that people were just having a little bit of a joke given the unusual nature of the treatment.

It will be interesting to see how this develops. There seems to be reason to believe it's based on reliable science given that the original paper was published in Nature. I am however slightly concerned about this quote from the original report:

"Hives treated with Metarhizium survived significantly longer than untreated hives, although 42 of the 48 hives succumbed to Varroa, pathogen pressure, and intense yellow jacket predation by the end of year two."

They suggest (without evidence that I can see in a brief scan through the report) that it's ultimately due to re-infestation by varroa from untreated colonies, but that those colonies should be weak enough after treatment to die as a result of wasp attacks doesn't really seem like a good result.

James

my point was just that it may be a slightly more feasible route to investigate than rubharb leaves, sea salt or lavender

 

[Delgirl]

I applaud anyone who seeks to find a non-chemical 'silver bullet' to inhibit varroa infestations .. as you know, the closest we have come, so far, is OA by sublimation but I accept that some people are cautious about that is potentially harmful to the beekeeper.

Unfortunately, as the study admits, lab results are difficult to replicate in real beekeeping as the environment that the bees like is not conducive to keeping the fungus alive.

Hopefully, time will tell and someone will eventually find the silver bullet .. a passive treatment that kills mites instantly with absolutely no effect on the bees. Probably not in my lifetime I'm afraid ...

Well I’m no scientist but I believe penicillin development and correct dosage took a lot of trial and error. Don’t know how old you are pargyle but you never know!

 

[bobba]

You will always get those types of responses

I have never left such a comment on another tread - honest...

Nothing wrong with a bit of humor.

Seems to be more skepticism than I expected. I suspect it just sounds too good to be true. I dont think its guaranteed to work, but I do think there is a good possibility of this approach producing a new treatment.

It will be interesting to see if they can develop it further.

 

[victor meldrew]

I've heard that putting a sheet of mesh under will make them all to fall through and not be able to get back in.

I wish !! I have open mesh floors on all my hives but the likelihood of mites in the phoretic stage falling through is rather slim. They easily out breed the losses . After an OA vap hundreds tumble through.

 

[JamezF]

Seems to be more skepticism than I expected. I suspect it just sounds too good to be true. I dont think its guaranteed to work, but I do think there is a good possibility of this approach producing a new treatment.

There appears to be research suggesting that if you can get the fungus onto the mites and it can survive in the temperatures of the brood nest then it can kill them, though I'm not paying to read the referenced papers. As you say, that's some way from having a viable control though. There's also
the question of whether mites could develop resistance to the fungus, too. I guess that depends on how it actually works, and I'm not paying to read those papers either

James

 

[blackcloud]

I wish !! I have open mesh floors on all my hives but the likelihood of mites in the phoretic stage falling through is rather slim. They easily out breed the losses . After an OA vap hundreds tumble through.

My sarcasm overshot ,Victor

 

[JamezF]

My sarcasm overshot ,Victor

Not in every case

James

 

[victor meldrew]

My sarcasm overshot ,Victor

I don’t do irony

 

[pargyle]

Well I’m no scientist but I believe penicillin development and correct dosage took a lot of trial and error. Don’t know how old you are pargyle but you never know!

72 ... so I'm not hopeful ! Unlike penicillin there is little human benefit to finding a 'cure' for varroa ... so not a lot of money to back any research.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sorry… had to change the title of the thread. It was driving me nuts!