>
> >I have seen hives loaded with mites and loaded with bees with deformed
> wings.  Those hives had a steady stream of crawlers exiting on nice days.
> The open larva looked just fine.  The capped larva might be a little
> shotgunned but not bad at all.


Dick, the above description would be called out by any on my crew for being
unusual.  We typically observe the prepupae and pupae dying before we see
many adults with deformed wings.


>  It seems to me unlikely a virus could infect larva and be causing visible
> changes or death before the larva is capped due to the very short time
> period.  That sounds a lot more like a bacteria.  Are there any bacteria
> known to be transmitted by varroa?
>

This is a question that I've been asking researchers with PCR for several
years, and have sent dying prepupal samples several times, but have gotten
little follow through.  I sent an email just now to see if I can get an
answer for the latest samples that I collected.   ABPV can kill prepupae
quickly, but I do not yet have PCR confirmation as to whether DWV does.
I'm amazed that more research hasn't been done to identify the pathogens
associated with PMS.

>
> I have seen a fair number of hives that had perfect egg patterns and
> perfect two day old larva patterns.  But, between two days and time to seal
> almost every larva simply was gone and very few got sealed.  In some cases
> I have looked at frame after frame of such brood without being able to see
> even one abnormal looking larva.  But, if I look long enough I can
> generally find one that looks odd.  It is laying in the bottom of the cell
> wrong and is often a very faint yellow color instead of being white.


The above description exactly matches what I see in Calif with today's EFB.


> Is PMS of young brood real?  Or is it fiction and really a case of EFB?


I've never seen PMS with young brood--only starts with prepupae.  I've seen
tons of the EFB that you've described, and it clears up with oxytet.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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