Pete >I don’t see how you can study the relationship of bees and varroa — without understanding the environmental connection


That's my thinking also, but wouldn't you agree that we have a knowledge gap between the two?  Africa presents an opportunity to point us toward a connection. Some things in East Africa became apparent from the first colony we opened - they were covered with propolis.  My reading indicates that a robust propolis shield is part of a more complete immunological response which, by the way, we have selected to breed out of our bees.  Recognizing that propolis is not anti-viral but is anti-microbial it may play a role to mitigate pathology during co-infections of viruses and say, funguses or any other pathogen downregulating the bees' immune response. 

In the parts of Africa I've traveled in, they describe their "environment" as wet or dry. Beekeeping follows a definite pattern in each season. The wet season is more favorable to honey production and during the dry season, bees will migrate or die when the forage dries up.  Since these weather patterns occur with some regularity each year, abandoned cavities get regular cleanings by wax moth and the bees are perpetually rearing brood on new comb. Since  Africa is no stranger to pesticide use, comb contamination exists so if environmental toxins are delaying varroa tolerance in our bees, in Africa wax moth are eating the toxins away.    

So the question remains, how did the environmental factors, in the broad sense which includes weather, pesticides, and the internal microbial environment, conspire to bring about a balance between varroa and bees in Africa.  My guess, that among other factors, propolis is playing some background role.  On the viral front, there may be co-infections of a viral type currently unidentified in the African bee population that's absent in our bee populations. One that's affecting virulence in the mite population- a kind of natural RNAi we know nothing about.  On the wild side, wouldn't be great if it's an African plant source that can help facilitate varroa tolerance. 

Bill Hesbach









 

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