Hi Ellen,

Great you have New World Carnolians chewing out varroa in
the purple eye stage. Come on over to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biologicalbeekeeping and talk
with the rest of us on straight biological controls.

You will find that many have caucasian strains doing the
same, also italian hybrids, etc. It's a trait in all bees
irrespective of pedigree.

As for what you wrote. If you look at your bees in the
purple eye stage you will notice that they are white pupae
being chewed upon or uncapped. This denotes healthy bees
with no disease. But many times on large combs you will
also notice secondary diseases that get a run on things and
then the secondary spread and the bees cannot take care of
both. The secondary look like darked bees remains and
decomposing in the most basic of description to tell
someone what to look for and the darkened larva/paupae lay
on the bottom sides of the cells. These frames need to be
pulled and taken out of a colony and replaced from our
biological standpoint. Not medicated and kept in your
beehive.

Many bees on bigger combs exhbit the trait of chewing out
varroa and wanting to correct the problem, but cannot due
to the secondaries and the extra work required in chewing
out pupae with reproducing offspring inside.

You now go to 4.9mm foundation and the problem of chewing
out becomes easier and secondaries come under control which
gives the bees a free hand to get the mites out.

Now the problem is easier because with the 4.9mm foundation
the mites become non-reproducing and thus no additional
offspring to have to clear out. Also with small cell the
bees are on a better diet and healthier and disease doesn't
take them over so easily. also on 4.9mm the bees have acess
to more propolis and the extra shellac and resin helps to
keep the cells more steral keeping infection low (IMPOV)to
non-existant.

But any one even seeing a few purple eye worker cells
chewed open has bees that will handle varroa regardless of
bee race/strain given the chance.

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby
Commercial Beekeeper,
Tucson, Arizona
[log in to unmask]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biologicalbeekeeping
http://www.beesouce.com/pov/lusby/



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