> I found an article somewhere...don't remember where. I think a "Gleanings"
> from the 80's. Tracheal in the UK all but disappeared, with a big spike
> about 20 years after the initial losses. Acarapis then became a minor pest.
> I believe that Maine bees had a spike in Acarapis last year or the year
> before...Bill?...about 20 years after the initial losses.


We did have several operations lose colonies to Tracheal two years ago. The
problem with Tracheal is it was followed by  Varroa, which tool all the
blame for colony loss, and now, CCD. Here in Maine, the operators were sure
it was CCD but it was Tracheal.

Way back when, we did have a major loss, followed by a few years of buildup
and then another major loss. The numbers bandied around then were just like
CCD, with 80% loss as the favorite number. I had normal winter losses, so
wondered where those numbers came from.

It is a minor pest, but my guess is that there are more instances of it than
are recorded just because of the much larger losses caused by Varroa and
nosema.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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