>
> >Here, the researchers start with the assumption that IAPV is a key player
> in colony collapse, which it is probably not


Viruses certainly due appear to be clear players, although I'm not sure that
they always initiate, or whether they are more opportunistic.  However, in a
number of trials (my own included) inoculation of apparently healthy
colonies with an IAPV cocktail certainly appeared to initiate collapses.

Oddly, that has not yet happened in this season's trial.  It's been a couple
of weeks since inoculation, but I'm not yet seeing mortality..

A critical aspect not made clear in Hunter's paper is the importance of
chilling to suppress the bee antiviral response.  So there is less effect
from a virus inoculation in summer.

These are difficult trials to get definitive data from.  If you hit the bees
too hard, then you can overwhelm the treated as well as the control groups
(that happened in my trial last year).  If you don't hit them hard enough,
then you won't see any effect.

I'm very curious to see how this year's trial goes, as well as the field
trials by beekeepers.

Randy Oliver

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