"What would account for both of these is a theory where the bees from a collapsing hive leave to seek other healthy hives."
Another possibility is mite dispersal via "visiting bees". Is it possible that bees spend some time in other hives and end up returning home? I haven't seen evidence of this but I can easily imagine a forager making a mistake, delivering its cargo to the wrong hive, then going back to the original home hive on the next trip. Scenario: Mite on forager arrives at wrong hive. Mite senses congregation zone (opportunity for sexual selection via multiple foundresses in cells). Mite jumps off forager, joins "mite bomb" hive. Forager goes home.
Christina
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