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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Bill Hesbach <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 09:56:17 -0400
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>I can understand the reluctance to depend upon big ag, but if it works and is cost effective???


In my thinking, it's not just a monetary consideration or fear of Big Ag that concerns me. What if eliminating every varroa species in the world skips over a needed evolutionary adaptation that will provide honey bees with a more robust defense against another emerging predation like mites in the genus Tropilaelaps. I'm all for CRISPR, I just think being part of a solution that aids bees to become more naturally resistant or tolerant of varroa is a far less risky approach than using a gene drive to eliminate the whole species. 
 
On the other hand, when it comes to mosquitos that kill, according to WHO, more than one million people each year,  the risk assessment is quite different.  Also, there are more than 2,500 species of mosquito worldwide and only a handful of species are infectious vectors. But, there is still some significant risk in the equation.


Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT 

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