Here's a question for those pathologically-minded bee students out there.
We know that some honey bee viruses have been found in various tissues,
including the ovaries, thus suggesting that bee viruses may be
transmitted by the queen transovarially (i.e., via the eggs) to offspring.
Have there been any reports of bee viruses being detected in drone semen?
Such finds should greatly concern quarantine officials in those countries
and US states, such as Hawaii, that prohibit importation of living honey
bees, but permit entry of semen.
Tom Culliney
Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture
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