> I'm gonna go out on a limb here.

I will slide over and you can sit next to me on the limb Jim!


 while Nosema ceranae is
>   much more closely related to other types of Nosema, such as
>   Nosema vespula.

The researchers I have spoken with have always came back to what we call
nosema ceranae being a variant of nosema vespula and was contracted from
wasps. Today is the first I have heard of a possible nosema bombi variant
. Interesting!
>
> 7) We've had Nosema apis for years and years, but not at "epidemic"
>   levels.

As a beekeeping problem troubleshooter I have advised on plenty of epidemic
nosema apis cases but in all cases the nosema was controlled by per label
application of fumidil. Too put it simply the control of nosema ceranae by
per label application of fumidil once symptoms are showing has been a waste
of time and money.

The hardest to solve*nosema ceranae* cases  involve beekeepers like Dave ( 
if Dave's problems are related to nosema ceranae)which have NEVER fed 
fumidil and most likely his comb is full of spores. Those
which have been using fumidil see problems in some hives but not large
scale crashing in most cases.

Nosema apis was called the silent killer for years because your hives would
look basically normal but many field bees would die a couple weeks early.
However in epidemic cases hives and whole yards would crash. Richard Taylor
for years in his column said that he felt testing and treating for nosema
apis was a waste of time and money. When his hives all crashed and the bee
lab reported nosema apis as the cause and Richard reported honestly what had
happened I became a bigger fan of Richards.



Nosema ceranae is easy to go undetected until the last stages.

My opinion and not all researchers are in agreement (at least not at this
time!)

The first warning sign in my opinion  is the bees not wanting to take syrup.

The second sign is the bees seem uninterested in foraging. My hypothesis is
the older bees are crashing and the younger bees are not converting to
foragers fast enough. In the cases I have seen there is room in the hive for
nectar but there is also stored honey. Bees by nature hoard honey. If your
bees are in an orchard in bloom and seem uninterested I would today suspect
nosema ceranae.


> problem
> would have left some bees with "only the shakes" because they would only
> get
> a "whiff" of the poison, rather than a dose that would do lasting harm.

Many of us believe the neonicotinoids are causing beekeepers doing
pollination problems. Not from LD50 doses but sub lethal doses. Hopefully
the new research being done at Penn State will shed some light on the issue.
Possibly the dose is to sub lethal to cause the "shakes"

The way to look at the neonicotinoids in my opinion is simple. The chemical
companies wish to talk LD50 and commercial migratory beeks want to talk sub
lethal. Both the chemical companies and the beeks have no real data on sub
lethal.

The commercial migratory beekeeper position is the need for some label
changes concerning the use of neonicotinoids on certain crops bees
pollinate. We realize we have not got the clout to get neonicotinoids pulled
from the market.

Right not the most problem areas are cantaloupes, apples and citrus.

bob

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