Hi Robin & all

>  As western honeybees have been exposed to Varroa for
> only a few decades, evoution of beneficial genes is
> unlikely (not impossible) to have occurred.  So Josh is most
> probably right that the genes for any necessary beneficial
> behaviour (if they exist) are most likely have been in bees a
> long time.

one of the problems in citing genes as being beneficial or not in
a particular circumstance is that we humans have a tendency to
think along the lines established by animal husbandry.

We are dealing with sets of genes rather than individual genes
(at any one location on any particular chromosome) which can be
the same or different, simply because of multiple mating and the
number of patrilines that this creates.

The mix of patrilines is constantly changing, due to both man
made influences (breeding) (transportation) (colony management)
and natural influences (weather) (predators) (parasites) (forage
availability).

It is not so much that genes mutate (although that can happen)
but that the various combinations of genes are more or less
successful under certain circumstances and thus particular sets
of genes suit one situation and another mixture will be right for
another circumstance.

There is a whole additional layer to this, in as much as at gene
level there are a number of possible alleles at any given loci on
any particular gene.

All of this boils down to the fact that the genes required
'probably' already exist within many bee colonies, it is just a
matter of getting the right combinations together. Simple to say
but a vastly difficult task, due to sheer numbers of
possibilities.

A varroa tolerant bee colony may occur at random about once in
10,000,000,000 colonies, but unless that accident occurs where
there is pressure from varroa and a beekeeper capable of
recognising the quality, then it will go un-noticed. For any
breeding strategy to be successful, we must lower the odds by
breeding better candidates, but these will never be found unless
the colonies concerned are challenged by varroa at higher levels
than we beekeepers are currently prepared to put up with.


 Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website
Email: [log in to unmask] or  [log in to unmask]
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman &
http://www.dave-cushman.net

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