The data in the paper does not as clearly as the abstract suggests put
to rest the other hypothesis on mite bombs and the influence of
robbing. It does show quite a bit of mobility and inspecting of other
colonies by foragers. It reveals how much potential horizontal
transfer of mites there can be, which in theory promotes high virulence
of mites (as opposed to vertical transfer- from parent to offspring
hosts). What these findings put to rest is the difficulty in finding a
solution to the mite problem via some kind of promotion of mites with
compromised reproduction or reduced virulence. Any mite type placed in
an apiary is likely going to get diluted out shortly by other types
from other colonies.
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