"I think it should be made clear that there is a big difference between absconding behavior and colony collapse. I have only seen European honey bees abscond a few times."
Right, Pete. And I am questioning how "absconding" is differentiated from "my hive died". Here in the Northeast, hives die when mites overwhelm them. But hives do not ABSCOND as a consequence of too many mites, at least not in my experience.
Thus, I asked John Chesnut to explain why he was so confident in thinking that mites explain why bees abandon a hive, in the absence of any other information or evidence. Hopefully, he will tell us.
Christina
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