The parasite and disease dynamics inside a colony and between colonies 
of social insects may not fit very well the better understood 
epidemiological models of vertebrates, mammals, and our anthropocentric 
views of the world.

1) For mites, and viruses, and possibly other pathogens, an epidemic 
within a colony or a group of colonies does not start when an 
outside event brings an infectious contagion to the area.  The 
contagions appear to be there all the time, or at least very close to 
being harmful in any location and time.

2) Colonies, or groups of colonies, appear to harbor latent levels of 
pathogens (and to a degree mites) that are kept at bay when colonies 
are "healthy" or take off when unhealthy.

3) Insects do not have immune systems developed to the point of 
specific targeting of a pathogen.  They rely more on generalized immune 
reactions, and perhaps more importantly, on social immunity, largely 
through behavioral mechanisms of tossing out the sick or infested.

Bottom line, we need to think outside of the "mammalian box" when 
visualizing diseases and pests in honey bee colonies.  And solutions 
may require different approaches....

 

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