The part of the study that was most thought-provoking to me was the
following:
*'Intriguingly, pathogens and parasites that affect adult honey bees are
less immediately destructive as compared to diseases of the brood.
Pathogens that do not kill adult bees outright are able to accumulate
within the population, so colonies with shorter lived bees would have
reduced pathogen and disease loads when compared to those with longer lived
bees. In this scenario, colonies with shorter lived bees would appear
healthier and would be favored by breeders, who may be inadvertently
selecting for reduced lifespans in adult bees.'*
Here's the text of the study itself:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-21401-2#MOESM1
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