Bill Hesbach posted:
"If this worked in theory on IAPV, couldn't feeding DWV dsRNA work to protect bees against DWV? "

I wondered that Bill, and also if this technique could be used to address Varroa and/or the foulbroods (which have been a real problem in my area). There has been research here and there on applying this technique to bees: it is already used in control of cattle ticks and probably other pests.

So I emailed the researchers, who replied:
"Thank you for the email and interest in our work. 
Indeed, transmissible RNA could be applied as a social immunity mechanism against pathogen/pest of interest including the varroa (see our previous work: http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1003035). I would love to see the community exploring additional transmissible RNA applications to support and enhance colony performance."

In discussing this very promising work with beekeeper colleagues there is a concern that this tech has been "buried" by big pharmachem companies who see it as a threat to their sales of standard miticides. Which is a very separate issue from the usual, addressable, concerns about cost and application.

I hope that this research forges ahead, because to date it is the only thing that strikes me as promising something practical, effective, and healthy for the bees.  

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