Aaron Morris wrote:
>
> Bob Harrison, campaigning for smaller cell size quotes from "Encylopedia of
> Beekeeping", written and edited by Roger Morse and Ted Hooper:
>
> > Varroa Jacobsoni was originally limited to,and EVOLVED
> > on,an Asian species of honey bee,Apis cerana. The damage to this species
> > is apparently not serious,and REPRODUCTION IS limited to the drone brood
> cells.
comment:
I assume you agree with this provable fact?
>
> The he writes:
>
> > I found thru
> > further research that the cell size was the reason (smaller) and when the
> > colony was without drone brood the varroa reduced exactly like when we
> treat
> > with chemicals.

 comment:
I assume you agree with these provable facts?
>
> And concludes as proven "the case for getting our hives on the 4.9mm
> foundation."

Hello Aaron and other bee-l readers,

Having delt with much ridicule from my fellow beekeepers and the
scientific community since 1985 i accept your criticism of my theory. At
least now i can use Dee & Ed Lusbys work to support my conclusions. I
hope we can agree to disagree. I also thank Dadant for not thinking my
theory ludicrous in 1985. The varroa problem did not exist in the U.S.
in 1985 so Dadant didn't see the need to get bees on the correct size
foundation.  I hope to approach Dadant again on my next trip  to try to
push for production of the small cell foundation.

>
> First off, little was known about Varroa jacobsoni in 1985 when "Encylopedia
> of Beekeeping" was published.

 Correct!  Having read most of the published work on varroa out i
believe all but the slow reproduction and how long it takes to kill a
colony are correct today. Most U.S. librarys carry the book so maybe one
of our researchers will take a look at page 396-398 and comment. 638.1
IL9

  Second, writing that "further research"
> showed that the cell size was the reason for varroa reproducing in worker
> cells without giving a source for the further research is ludicrous!

Many books such as "the varroa handbook" state the fact that varroa
can't reproduce in the small cell size of a. cerana worker brood and as
many as ten female varroa mites can reproduce in one cell of the
5.2mm-5.7mm cell size.
>
> Using outdated and unnamed sources Bob's conclusion as presented amounts to
> smaller cells is the proven answer because he says so.

comment: Sadly there has not been new material to quote from. Only
research papers from researchers from time to time and most of those are
based in theory. Is our current varroa research going the the right or
wrong direction? Are we winning the war against varroa? Will a chemical
be found which will kill varroa and not the bee AND not contaminate wax
and honey?

  As presented, it
> doesn't stand up.

The purpose of the post was to answer why i started to think the key to
varroa control was in the cell size. I my opinion all varroa research
which has had limited success should be put on a back burner and new
avenues should be pursued. Varroa is winning the war and the use of
chemicals both legal and illegal could destroy the beekeeping industry
through contamination of wax and honey. Please look at the map of the
known distribution of Varroa jacobsoni in 1985 on page 396 and look at
the same map today and tell me if the best scientific minds of today
have the solution! I DON'T THINK SO!

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison