>As I understand it, the Remebee was aimed at IAPV so if you had a
"cocktail" then there may have been other viruses there that did not respond
to the treatment because they were not "targetted".

Absolutely correct, Trevor.  Plus any preexisting viruses in the hives.  I
just started the virus viability assay for this season's trial yesterday.
 Caged bees in an incubator, testing the virus at three doses, each stronger
by a factor of 10, compared to uninoculated controls.  I need to determine
which dose to inoculate the field hives with in order to cause some serious
"hurt," without immediately killing them all.

Perhaps Bob would like some of the leftover solutions to feed to his robust
colonies here in California--believe, me, it is quite an eye opener!

>Also could there have been a synergistic effect with say Nosema ceranae
that the Remebee does not "treat"?

The manufacturer assumed so, and intentionally used hives infected with N
ceranae.

>Keep us posted on "overload' if you are feeding a similar as natural
> product.


Sorry, the word "overload" was misleading.  There simply appeared to be less
benefit to the weekly doses compared to the monthly dose, perhaps by ramping
up the siRNA immune response to the point that it was too "busy."

Please understand that Remebee is not approved for sale, except under
experimental conditions.  It is far too early to make claims about it, other
than that several controlled field trials indicate that is increases colony
strength and survival when fed prior to inoculation with a virus cocktail
mixed from CCD hives from three different operations. Er, since Bob does not
believe that CCD exists, let me say from three commercial operations that
experienced major colony collapse over the winter in 2009, and which the
beekeepers described as "CCD" (and from which the extracted viruses cause
healthy colonies to collapse when they are inoculated).  Again Bob, happy to
demonstrate on your bees  : )

>
>> >Dave Wick will run IVDS screens for $40 per sample.
>>
> >Wow. what's the turn around on samples

Turn around is fast--best to ask Dave directly.  He visited me three days
ago, and sounded ready to roll.

>and how many samples need sent to determine a need for remebee.

"Need for Remebee" is too strong a statement.  Tracking virus levels in a
commercial operation over time can give a large operator much information
about his management, especially with regard to nutrition, location, mite
and nosema management.  Otherwise, you may be working "blind," and investing
unwisely in medications.  Several commercial operators have done so, and the
Calif beekeepers, Almond Board, and PAm have all funded Dave to determine
the effect of certain essential oils upon virus levels.


> >I bet the makers (and sellers) are banking on prophylactic use. How many
> times a year?
>

Too early to tell.  Again the product is not yet on the market,
and recommendations for use have not bee formulated.


> >Can I buy stock in the company?


Yes.  Your bee business must be doing well if you are looking for additional
investments.  Should the product prove effective in bees, there are huge
additional potential markets in the culture of other invertebrates.  By the
way, I personally have no financial investment in the company (trying to
head off any new conspiracy theories).

>
> >But the study posted does not explain the higher honey crop is made based
>> on
>
> sick bees not treated with sick bees treated. Hmmm.


Bob, did you actually read the paper?  "Honey crop" was not mentioned in the
paper, and the fact that this was an experiment, with weight gain as
a measurable variable was clearly explained.

The lead author, Dr. Wayne Hunter, has a great body of research under his
belt with viruses of leafhoppers, and iridoviruses.  He was brought into the
bee lab by ARS due to his expertise.  He is a very sharp guy, and is
genuinely interested in helping the bee community.

Randy Oliver

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