Mordecai et al:

one UK beekeeper, Ron Hoskins, initiated a closed
breeding programme from colonies that survived the
initial Varroa infestation and this isolated population
of up to 40 colonies persists in Swindon,
central England, without chemical control of Varroa

Hoskins:

In 2015 our New Queens are likely to be in demand due to their latest Varroa Hygienic qualities. They are bred from some of our most hygienic colonies. Some may be Instrumentally Inseminated.  We will use some ourselves to replace older failing queens or to increase the levels of hygiene. We need to sell some queens in order to spread their hygienic qualities for the benefit of all honeybees and their minders. The money we get is to be used to conduct further research.
We see very little signs of Damaged Wing Virus (DWV). Our bees appear able to protect themselves. As this is not understood we will be conducting a variety of breeding trials this season.

Mordecai:

In the Swindon apiary, an evolutionary
stable state has been reached in which
disease symptoms are minimal and colonies survive.
The data show that the dominance of type B in this
isolated UK apiary has been stable only over a year of
sampling, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the
viral makeup of the bees at the Swindon Honey bee
Conservation Trust has been stable for some time longer.

Randy:

> I'm surprised that there hasn't been more discussion on this finding.

My comment:

Will he maintain his claim that the bees themselves are "hygienic" or advertise "DWV-lite" queens for sale?

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