>
>Ok, but what happens in the fall and winter, particularly in northern
>climates.  Are all of those mites in an old bee simply second generation
>progeny (staying in the same host), or do mites transfer to older hosts
>(become less picky at this time of year)?  I don't know and can't say I
>have seen any hard data on this one.  Pettis has evidence of more than
>one generation of mites in the same host.
>
>How about all those mites in the other tracheae, where did they come
>from?  Same host, another host, some of both?
>
>Makes a difference in the population modeling efforts.
>
There was some work reported not long ago in ABJ on transference of
Acarapis woodi between mature bees in the winter cluster. I noted it
because it contradicts the up to '4day > old' doctrine weve been brought
up on.
 
In the UK here I 'bought in' Acarine into my bees when expanding a few
years ago. Fortunately I isolated them into one apiary. That winter the HTM
bees died out and I have since had no trouble. Losses were over 50%  but I
prefered to see them go and breed from better bees.
 
Yours Ian
 
[log in to unmask]  - Northern Regional Bee Inspector, UK -  Bee Curious
phone/fax 01704 822831
snailmail 'Asland' Flash Lane, Rufford, Ormskirk, Lancs, L40 1SW  - UK.