> > >What if its not the bees, but the mites that are different?? With the rapid movement of any successful strain of mites by either robbing or human-aided transport, it's difficult for me to imagine how any non isolated population of bees would not be invaded by the most virulent strain of mites. There is simply no downside to the mites to exhibit the greatest rate of reproduction in order to out compete any other strain of mite. Conversely, it would be adaptive for any locally-adapted stock of bees to develop resistance to both mites and local pathogens (including viruses). Bottom line, I'll put my money on the bees developing resistance rather than on the mites becoming benign--so long as we maintain high host (colony) density. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html