Hello All,

As i said in a previous post the large cell (man created)foundation is the
cause of Varroa Jacobsoni to switch host from Apis Cerana to A. Melifera.
In 1985 "Encylopedia of Beekeeping" was printed and is edited by Roger Morse
and Ted Hooper. The book convenced me in 1985 of the source of the problem.
Very little was known about Varroa then and all that was was put in the book
including a map on page 396 of worldwide varroa distribution.
I will quote from page 397 of the book and then add my comments.

quote: Varroa Jacobsoni was originally limited to,and EVOLVED on,an Asian
species of honey bee,Apis cerana. The damage to this species is apparently
not serious,and REPRODUCTION IS limited to the drone brood cells.

comment: I asked why not the worker cells? I found thru further research
that the cell size was the reason (smaller)and when the colony was without
drone brood the varroa reduced exactly like when we treat with chemicals.

Quote: The desire to utilize the greater honey production capacity of the
European honey bee prompted beekeepers to bring  A. Mellifera to tropical
Asia. These bees became closely associated with A.cerana through robbing and
through direct INTERFERENCE by man,and as a result Asian bee mites,including
Varroa INFESTED A. mellifera.

comment:The large(man made)cell size 5.2mm-5.7mm must have looked like a
smorgasboard to varroa! They could reproduce year around in the worker cells
instead of a reduction as mother nature intended in the drone broodless
period.

quote:Since the early 1950's men have unwittingly moved Varroa-infested
honey bees from Asia to most of Europe,South America and northern Africa.
This has had serious consequences for beekeeping,as many HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS of colonies have been destroyed.

Comment:
Does not the above prove the case for getting our hives on the 4.9mm
foundation. We can't undo our mistakes but we can learn from them. The
solution to varroa involves understanding how Varroa switched hosts in the
first place. Dee Lusby believes 4.9mm is small enough. I personally believe
a. cerana cell size is the answer. I agree that honey is hard to extract
from the small cell size but millions of a. cerana hive produce large
amounts of honey in China.

For the bee-l archives i will date this post 8-27-2000. In 1985 the book
made the following statement about varroa which now we know as inaccurate.

quote: The reproductive rate is low,so that 3-5 years may pass from the time
of an initial low level infestation until the mites significantly weaken the
bee colony.

comment: I blame the above statement with causing the biggest amount of
damage to U.S. beekeeping. Many beekeepers underestimated varroa and paid
the price dearly with operations which had been started in the 1800's.

The above is in response to the direct emails asking how i became so sure
cell size was the problem and the solution. I rest my case!

Bob Harrison