At 11:18 AM 10/23/95 -0400, you wrote:
>> Hi Doug!
>> Good question you posed!  Some of the mail on the b-l, indicate varroa is to
>> blame.  Well, this has not been absolutely proven to be the 'whole' truth.
>> Yes, sure, there is a certain link between varroa and deformed wings.
>>   But at least some current research is generally heading in the direction of
>> varroa the vector!  A carrier of viruses etc.
>> So, there are a number of useful things you could be doing.
>>
>> 1.  Send a sample of bees away (30-50 bees) for viral analysis. Put them in a
>> match box. (I have no idea where you would send them in the U.S.A)
>>
>> 2.  For colonies with serious wing damage, try and record the mite drop per
>> day.
>>
>> 3.  Certainly treat your colony with an acaricide if you have varroa!
>>
>> And you could consider looking at the following references
>>
>> DeJong,D. et al (1982) Weight loss and other damage to developing worker
>>       honeybees from infestation with Varroa.  J.Apic.Res. 21(3):165-167
>>
>> Marcangeli,J. et al (1992)  Malformations produced by Varroa on Apis in the
>>       province of Buenos Aires,Argentina.  Apidologie 23:399-402.
>>
>> Bailey,L.& Ball,B.V. (1991)  Honeybee pathology (2nd ed). Academic
>>       press,London.
>>
>> Anyway, good luck and let me know how you got on!
>>
>> Cheers Peter
>>
>
>
>   SEND DEFORMED BEES TO THE AGRIC RESEARCH CENTER
>  BELTSVILLE MARYLAND USA ATTN: Dr. Hachiro
>  Shimanuki for expert analysis. IT'S FREE.
>   John Iannuzzi PhD            * "Singing masons building roofs
>   9772 Old Annapolis Rd        *  of gold."       --Shakespeare
>   Ellicott City MD 21042 usa   *  20 Italian colonies
>   [log in to unmask]   *  3-1/2 decades in beedom
>
>
   John
 
  It seems to me that the USDA has no facilities for virus testing, since
they just hired Anderson from Australia to do their virus testing recently.
 
  Don Tinker
  HCR2 Box 9563
  Keaau, HI 96749
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