From the discussion about mites and robbing and the reason for colony
deaths in the Fall, then add the discussion about virus being transferred
by honey and pollen, could the actual reason for Fall collapse be more from
the honey robbed from collapsing colonies and the viral load that comes
with it than the over-all number of mites?

It is the virus that kills the bees, not the mites, so mite numbers are
more reflective of the vectors than the damage the mites cause. Live virus
in honey and pollen brought into a hive would be much more effective in
killing a colony than the increase in mite load.

It seems to me that this also tracks with Randy's experiments with virus
spread in apiaries.

This could also answer the observation that in many Fall collapses there
does not seem to be a large mite load. If the robbed honey had virus, you
do not need a large mite load, since it is the virus that kills the bees,
not the mite. Plus it is much more easily spread to all the bees in a short
time, compared to mites.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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