Is it noticed by beekeepers that hygienic / VSH bees are hotter?
Is this a speculation on your part Peter (maybe it is a very reasonable
speculation), or something from one of the many papers you look at?
It is also possible that cleaning varroa is independent from nest defense.
The bees I have now are advertised as mite resistant and they are hot. I have never heard that VSH nor Russian bees were difficult to handle. These are not those. But then, those bees have never successfully controlled mites either. Whereas, many keeping Africans or African hybrids, claim that mites are not a problem. All I am saying is that there appears to be a correlation between internal and external vigilance, both from experience and research. I can fully imagine what a royal pain it would be to have a truckload of these things.
Pete
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