Well said Dr. Nasr. The hygenic trait is just one part of a honeybees
natural defenses against disease. As beekeepers we have a tendency to grasp
onto specific traits or treatments as an absolute cure for what is ailing
our bees. I do not believe that the hygenic behavior trait was ever meant
to be a cure all for AFB. I think the original intent was to assist the
bees and allow them the opportunity to clean up the early stages before the
disease could over run the hive.

I am a hobbyist bordering on sideliner,plus raising queens. When I had
fewer hives I did not worry as much about which form of treatment or
wheather to treat. I just did-across the board, as my fellow beekeepers.
Now with more hives I have the following concerns. If I don't treat: I will
lose hives that are costly to replace. If I continue to treat am I adding
poisons into my hives/wax/honey. Am I helping to contrubute to resistance
buildup to the approved products.
The answer I believe is in the SMR/HYGENIC bees and IPM.  However, it is
not someting that will change because we inhance these traits for one
single season. It will take 10-20 years or more before a noticable
difference can be seen.
Natural selection forced the Russian bee to take over approx. 100 years to
build resistance to the varroa mite. We are trying to do the same within a
shorter time span.

Frank Wyatt
Eden, NC

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