Gavin asked:
> There have been ideas floating about for some time that microsporidians
> such as Nosema may somehow cause the boosting of juvenile hormone in
> parasitised insects.
>
Hi Gavin,
Pete Borst recently brought some old research on that subject to my
attention. I checked it out with Drs Gro Amdam and Zachary Huang, who have
expertise on the subject. Looks like the JH boost hypothesis didn't pan
out.
However, nosema can certainly mess with protein levels in the haemolymph,
and clearly have some effects upon bee behaviour and survival.
Randy Oliver
****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm *
****************************************************