Back in 2000, Scott Camazine, an entomologist at Penn State University, discussed fall colony collapse.

> Ten years ago, we knew that mites decreased the lifespan of honeybees. Today, we often see entire colonies collapse in late fall. Mites aren't a good explanation if their only effect is to shorten the bee's lifespan. Before varroa, there were viruses, but they never killed colonies, except under very rare conditions. The viruses themselves were so rare that most beekeepers didn't even know about them. They were transmitted orally, from nurse to larval bees, but the dose required to generate a viral infection is much too high for a bee to become infected in this way. However, when the virus is injected directly into the bee's body tissue, as is the case when a mite bites a bee, the amount needed to cause an infection is much smaller. If viruses are in fact the major pathogen, we're in big trouble because there's really no way to control viral diseases in honeybees.

reported by STEFANIE A. DOEBLER.  BioScience • September 2000 / Vol. 50 No. 9

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