Hygenic Bees -Who discovered the phenomen?

[ROACHMAN]

There seem to be numerous groups around the world performing research on hygenic bees. These bees groom each other to remove varroa and also remove pupae that have been deformed due to the effects of varroa.

Who was the first person to notice these traits ?

I was at a Ron Hoskins lecture last year and he seemd to imply that it was him, is this correct?

I thought it was a German beekeeper.

 

[drumgerry]

The most obvious work done on hygienic bees is that carried out in Minnesota by Marla Spivak. A quick Google shows they've been working on it since 1994 - not sure if that pre or post-dates what Ron Hoskins has been doing

 

[Hivemaker.]

Who was the first person to notice these traits ?

Most likely a Russian beekeeper from the Primorsky region.

Or a beekeeper with Africanised bees.

 

[mbc]

Steve Taber mentions the USDA lab in Texas breeding hygienic bees in the1970's.

 

[Finman]

.
I think that hygiene sensitive bees arouse from breeding AFB resistant bees.
It was not connected to varroa. It is connected all kind of earger cleaning of sick brood.

In Sweden Gotlad bees are well tolerant to varroa but they are not hygiene sensitive.

Varroa tolerancy, that bees draw pupae out, was perhaps found first from Russian bee

 

[sugarbush]

I was at a Ron Hoskins lecture last year and he seemd to imply that it was him, is this correct?

Nope.. The earliest article I know of that talked about Hygienic behavior is from 1937. (Park, O.W., Pellett, F.C., Paddock, F.B. Disease resistance and American foulbrood. Amer. Bee J. 77: 20-25. 1937)

Hoskins would have been 6 years old back then.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I get a bit confused about 'hygienic' bees.

Some people refer to them cleaning dead larvae out of cells, some about grooming other bees. Which is the most appropriate, or do both apply?

 

[Polyanwood]

Both those things are hygienic traits.

Someone from LASI (Alton? Ratnieks?) told me that genetically they are not associated with each other and that it had not been totally proven whether the grooming behaviour also might be partly learned.

 

[Dishmop]

If you looked at an observation hive you will see that bees do this anyway, and I impart this knowledge without the aid of a research grant.

After they emerge from the cell they wobble about for a little while and then start to shake themselves. It looks as if they are covered with a fine dust but it might be that they are just a lighter shade. One of two other bees will then start to groom the new bee.

The winter bees in my hive at present can also be seen grooming.

 

[Scutellator]

I think it was Rothenbuhler in the 50's. No, the first who reported the trait i think were Park and Pendel some 20 years earlier