Hi Bob/All
 
Bob - you mentioned seeing something on TV about a Korean bee that
alerts other bees to the presence of mites on it and gets them
cleaned of.
 
Apparently, the asian honeybee, A.cerana has a natural way of
cleaning iteself of varroa - if it feels a mite on it, it presents
the mites to other bees which pick it of and drop it to the ground.
There is a little dance the bee does.
 
I have seen similar behaviour here with the cape honey bee when it
has bee lice on it - but only when the hive is illuminatd. I ran an
observation hive for quite a while, and noticed that when the queen
was placed in she was full of lice, but as time went on the bees got
rid of them.
 
The same goes for hive beetles - the cape honeybee chaces the beetles
if there is bright light, if there is dim light it often ignores the
beetle.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
15 Park Road
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
6139
South Africa
 
Time = Honey
 
If you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space!!