_Bob_ (mailto:[log in to unmask]) writes:
virus is half the issue and nosema ceranae is perhaps the other half as
Jerry's study suggests
then I suggest wiping out nosema ceranae completely from our bees has a
better success rate than trying to stop virus issues.
We're also saying to beekeepers that both Nosema and the IIV virus are
found in the gut, and that both pathogens thrive in cool, damp conditions.
Its anecdotal, but we've seen many of the most severe cases of CCD in
lowlands along rivers, near reservoirs, in areas with frequent ground fog.
We've also seen it manifest itself when a beekeeper makes splits, dropping a
small split into full-sized boxes, then subjecting the colonies to cool and
damp - it has to be harder for the bees to keep conditions inside a large
empty box warm - recommend splits into a nuc box (a tighter house with less
empty space).
My recommendations are NOT based on any rigorous study, but they do
reflect what we know about the environmental/ecological conditions that are
conducive to the reproduction of these two pathogens.
AND, it seems prudent to assume that a double gut infection might be
aggravated by nutritional stress.
And yes, any number of other stressors, including pesticides - keeping in
mind that fungicides are pesticides, so whereas some pesticides might add
to the problem, another might decrease the Nosema levels. We've done a
variety of studies over the decades with toxic chemicals, ranging from
pesticides to industrial pollutants. For example, with mites, the question in each
case was whether a particular poison would harm the bee more than the mite
and as such the mites might have an advantage, or whether the chemical
would harm the mite more than the bees, and as such the bees would do better.
The answers have sometimes been surprising.
Jerry
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