> Allen Dick wrote to BEE-L:
>
>  In my reading. I don't recall having come across
> much mention  of  drones and tracheal mites -- although maybe I
> just wasn't paying attention.
 
<etc.>
 
<A researcher replied>
> There was a study done by B. Dawicke at the University of Guelph,
> Ontario, canada in 1989-1991 on drone susceptibility to tracheal
> mite infestation. She found that drones are as susceptible as worker
> bees to tracheal mite infestation. There is no host preference of
> one sex over the other by female mites yet drones contained
> significantly greater numbers of female mites and total mites at
> different stages of development (1.5- 1.8 times). I continued this
> research and found that drones are susceptible to infestation by
> mites for a longer period of time e.g. 6 days. This long period of
> susceptibility to mite infestation may expalin the increased number
> of female mites which migrated into the drones.
 
<and another also replied>
 
   Drone tracheal trunks are accepted by tracheal mites as homes. The
   tubes are more spacious and a  lot of mites can be accomodated.
   Drone thorax sections are easy to view (by a bee examiner).
 
   It would seem that the longer life of drones might make them
   fertile ground for raising tracheal mites, however I've not seen
   any report of that.
 
<etc.>
 
   There has been contradictory evidence of colony  mite prevalence
   for drones vs workers (some report higher, some lower). I'd expect
   that the prevalence in drones collected from a colony, is more a
   reflection of the average mite prevalence in the colonies of a
   whole apiary (which drift to various colonies), rather than the
   prevalence in the particular colony.
 
<my thoughts>
 
This susceptibility of drones and their known tendaency to drift
between hives and yards can help explain spread of acarine as
well as the widely known and discussed spread of varroa.
 
(BTW I'm not sure of the propriety of naming researchers when
quoting excerpts of private communication directed to myself when
summarizing for the list, so I have left the names off in case the
research is not yet reviewed by peers, and treat the info as personal
observations.
 
I'd be interested in comments on this.  Some assume that anything
sent by email is assumed to be repeatable, but I know many scentists
tend to be sensitive about publically  releasing research data
before publication.  Cold fusion not withstanding <G>).
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>