On Sep 17, 2013, at 11:10 PM, allen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



> As I recall, the collapse was not immediate or proportional to the measured infection at the moment, but occurred after a passage of time.



Really, these are loaded statements. "Immediate" vs "passage of time"; "proportional". 



In the following passage you will read that a direct consequence of Nosema is the colony decline accelerates rapidly, resulting in depopulation.





> Clinical signs of N. ceranae infection in honeybee colonies

> 

> Probably the most controversial aspect of N. ceranae infection in beekeeping is its ability to depopulate or kill a colony. After N. ceranae parasitization of honeybees was first detected and linked with colony collapse in Spain (Higes et al., 2006; Martín-Hernández et al., 2007), other authors ruled out its role in colony loss (Cox-Foster et al., 2007; Klee et al., 2007). 

> 

> Moreover, at the time, the only common feature of colony collapse described all over the world was death.

> 

> A direct consequence of the high mortality rate of foragers that is provoked by Nosema infection, is that younger bees begin to forage earlier to compensate for the loss of available foragers, thereby modifying the entire work profile of the colony. However, this compensatory mechanism shortens the overall lifespan of adult bees.

> 

> When the colony reaches the point at which it cannot sustain brood production at a sufficient rate to replace the adult bee losses, the extent of colony decline accelerates rapidly, resulting in depopulation, which represents the only clear sign of infection described for Nosema ceranae.



Higes, M., Meana, A., Bartolomé, C., Botías, C., & Martín‐Hernández, R. (2013). Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia), a controversial 21st century honey bee pathogen. Environmental microbiology reports.















Peter Loring Borst

Paula Cohen Lab

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853





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