On Wed, 31 Dec 1997, \Dr. Pedro P. Rodriguez wrote:
 
> Lets all hope and pray that the mites do not end becoming parasitic to
> the bees too.  That's all we need in addition to Varroa.
 
Rest easy. There is virtually no chance that a phytophagous (plant-
feeding) mite would become obligately parasitic on an animal, such as a
honey bee, even in the absence of the mite's host plant.
 
*************************************************************************
Tom Culliney    Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry,
1428 South King St., Honolulu, HI 96814, U.S.A.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Telephone: 808-973-9528
FAX: 808-973-9533
 
"To a rough approximation and setting aside vertebrate chauvinism, it can
   be said that essentially all organisms are insects."--R.M. May (1988)
"Bugs are not going to inherit the earth. They own it now. So we might as
   well make peace with the landlord."--T. Eisner (1989)