> >For one, as I've said several times, that, to my knowledge Acarapis
> woodi is dependent on a single host, Apis mellifea. That sort of dependence
> of a parasite to a host doesn't appear overnight.
>

Actually, it can occur relatively "overnight."  It happened with *Varroa
destructor*, which was unable to successfully parasitize *Apis
mellifera* despite
being in their hives for some 70 years.  As Dr Denis Anderson found, it
appears that the entire varroa invasion of *Apis mellifera* can be traced
back to a mutation in a single female mite.  This indeed occurred
"overnight."

>Second, as I've said earlier, the female reproductive tracheal mite is
> particularly drawn to younger bees...which is necessary for their
> reproductive success. The ability to specifically identify younger bees is
> relatively sophisticated behavior that, I can't imagine appearing overnight.
>

Some of us can imagine it.  See above.


> >And third,as you yourself pointed out....there were adapted honey bees in
> North America.


I'm sorry for being unclear.  Such "preadaptation" does not mean that the
host was previously exposed to a parasite.  Humans are preadapted to
resistance to aquatic skin parasites since we tend to live out of water.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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