> Interesting statement - I cannot recall seeing deformed wings before
> varroa arrived.

The amount damaged at any particular stage is usually relatively small, and
the time window for spotting the results is usually quite brief.  How long
do you suppose bees with damaged wings survive in a healthy hive?  Moreover
if/when they leave, they crawl as far as they can, so the opportunity to see
them may be brief, unless we are into our hives daily, causing and observing
damage.

Add to that the fact that what we observe tends to be quite highly dependant
on what we wish to see, we expect to see, or are told we should see.
Granted, varroa has increased the problem of visible and continuing visible
damage, but beekeepers routinely shake small larvae out of position, dry out
or kill frames of larvae with sunlight during inspection, and otherwise
damage brood without being at all aware.

allen

At the present rate of progress, it is almost impossible to imagine any
technical feat that cannot be achieved - if it can be achieved at all -
within the next few hundred years.
            -- Arthur C. Clarke, 1983

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