>> V. destructor was mistaken for V. jacobsoni, a morphologically 
similar species first
 >> described from A. cerana in Indonesia (Oudemans, 1904). It was not 
until 2000,
 >> following a comprehensive molecular and morphological studies ...

That may be true, but if anyone had been paying attention and actually 
compared
what they were seeing with what they were supposed to be seeing, there 
should have
been big questions asked.

As I recall, before Anderson's revelation, there was the general 
assumption that
there was just one varroa mite and great wondering why it was doing 
damage some
places and not others.  A lot of people convinced themselves, even 
against the
evidence before their eyes.

That is the point.  The exact and detailed classification is not.

I could cite numerous other instances where bee scientists have
made oversights or assumptions that would not have been made if people had
not blindly trusted what they were told or wanted to believe, but there 
is not point
in getting too specific.

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