Hi everyone

I have lots of things to do, but I think it is interesting to share this
idea with you as "food for toughts".

This July I went to the north of the country for a pollination
contract. This is also a blueberry farm. I rent 110 EHB colonies.

In parallel, there were 18 hectares under plastic (green house) to be
pollinated with 450 Bombus terrestris colonies. The bumble bees colonies
used at this northen location of Chile were raised out of mated queens
imported from Israel. http://www.bio-bee.com/site/

All the pollination done outside with our bees resulted in excellent fruit.
Good size and full of seeds.

Inside the plastic tunnel, the bumbles proveed a total failure. Lots of
small size fruit with no seeds at all. 70 tons out of an estimated 200 tons
were not produced. A mayor lost for the company.
Some of that production was saved because our honey bees manage to pollinate
the rows close to the sides that were open for ventilation.

I am working now on a proposal for next July pollination, therefore I have
been talking with the people encharged of the plastic tunnels (greenhouses).
One of their observations about the behaviour of the bombus called my
atention. These fellow agronomist, one of them with plenty of experience
with insects, insisted on saying that "the bombus looked like paralised"
"they didn't want to fly out the boxes, and when they did, they stoped like
frozen on any surface".

This called my attention in relation to the potential source of IAPV around
the world.

From the CCD Progress Report 2010:

CAP-funded scientists from Pennsylvania State University recently conducted
preliminary
studies that indicate IAPV has an East Coast and a West Coast variant. IAPV
was believed to be
linked with CCD in 2007.  The west coast IAPV variant appears to be more
closely related to the
predominant strain in Australia.  Currently, studies are underway to compare
the virulence of the
East Coast and the West Coast strains of IAPV, and to better understand any
association with
other factors linked to CCD.

<http://www.bio-bee.com/site/>The Progress report also stated that: "Studies
have revealed that bumble bees are affected by IAPV and other viruses and
parasites that affect the honey bee"


How are the importation of live bumble queens managed at USA? Do the USA
import bumble queens from Israel?

I am not saying that this chilean boxes of Bombus terrestris that didn't
pollinated in the north of Chile have IAPV, that is something that I can not
prove. Neither than the Israely producer have their stock contaminated with
IAPV. I am just saying that maybe there is another source for IAPV that we
haven´t look.


-- 
Juanse Barros J.
APIZUR S.A.
Carrera 695
Gorbea - CHILE
+56-45-271693
08-3613310
http://apiaraucania.blogspot.com/
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