> it has been shown that the bees survive with varroa if there are no pathogens (got this from a good source about bees in Canada)

But "no pathogens" is an extremely rare scenario, even among colonies that are "apparently healthy".  It seems we must assume that the pathogens are "endemic" most everywhere.

"Prevalence and Seasonal Variations of Six Bee Viruses in Apis mellifera L. and Varroa destructor Mite Populations in France"
AEM - 12/2020
https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.70.12.7185-7191.2004



> Is it true that AHB in Puerto Rico are less aggressive than elsewhere, why?

Yes, I was in PR on a regular basis pre-COVID, and I spent some time with beekeepers who were catching swarms and enjoying the advantages.  It is temping to consider bringing back a few queens, but rather than a fountain pen, which would be a dead giveaway, I'd need to fabricate a trick thumbdrive, and I'd also need to have my sense of ethics surgically removed.

Why less defensive?  Well, no one's got a good solid reason just yet.  But it is what it is, island-wide.

Gentle Africanized Bees on an Oceanic Island
https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1752-4571.2012.00252.x

"In preliminary observations, the Africanized bees of Puerto Rico seemed to be less defensive than expected while retaining their typical size and mite resistance. Moreover, a dramatic decrease in reported attacks since the arrival of Africanized bees in Puerto Rico (Rivera-Marchand 2006) supports the hypothesis of decreased defensiveness. For instance, there had been four deaths in the first 4 years of the arrival of Africanized bees and none in the last 10 years. This pattern is significant in a simple runs test. The number of incidents where bees attacked people, as investigated in newspaper archives, shows a 100-fold decrease in numbers in the same time period."

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html