Hello Peter & All,

Peter said:
The wing venation is the first criterion and a follow-up DNA
> test is required to confirm.

The Florida AHB detection system is the same as the Tucson system I was told
for my American Bee Journal (ABJ) article.

The confirmed AHB comparison slides were sent from the bee lab in Tucson. In
Florida only cases of stinging deaths (animals) and to check the wing
venation results to make sure the tests of wing venation are accurate are
backed up by DNA testing.

The wing venation test has a margin of operator error (which I reported in
my ABJ article). The operator has to be very precise when they mouse click
on the bee part  points for the computer. The Florida lab showed me by
clicking outside the range that the wing venation program would display
error. Still a margin of operator error exists. I actually considered the
process out dated. I would invent a system in which the computer takes a
picture of both slides and moves over each other and does the calculations
itself. Similar to FBI fingerprint analysis. FAST with a very small margin
of error.

Also as I said in my article the Florida lab said the test as currently
being used was too slow because you had to do 10 sample bees to get an AHB
confirmation. The program the bee lab uses used four bee body parts and if I
remember correctly it took me around forty mouse clicks on those parts to do
a single bee sample. So it would take slide preparation of ten sample bees
and then 400 precise clicks to make a single conformation of AHB. Slide
preparation is very important as any buildup of sealer makes the wing
venation points hard to see perfectly.

Jerry Hayes said he had asked the USDA-ARS for a improved wing venation test
which only needed a single bee wing venation ( instead of 10) and what he
really wanted was a field test in which he could grind up the sample. Place
in a test tube and add a reagent and when the color turned a certain color
he could tell a down and dirty quick diagnosis of AHB.

In my opinion if you really needed to confirm AHB you would go directly to
DNA testing and what I believe is the usual procedure.

The Florida bee lab had shelves of bees waiting for AHB testing. I was shown
some samples and asked to pick the samples I thought by looks were AHB. I
got all wrong. I quickly learned its almost impossible to tell AHB by
looking.

I thank Jerry Hayes and the Florida bee inspectors I have met which have
taken the time to provide information so the readers of ABJ can take a peek
into the world of bee and hive inspection! I was stopped from entering the
DNA lab but maybe in the future I can get in and get a few pictures and
explain the process!

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison


-- 
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************