Hello Walter & All,

> Some of us in Ontario had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Yanping (Judy)
> Chen as guest speaker to the OBA (Ontario Beekeepers Assoc) summer meeting
> this past month. Dr. Chen is a Research Entomologist at the USDA/ARS
> Research Centre in Beltsville Maryland.

Judy is about as good as it gets on virus in the U.S.. I have heard her
speak on several occasions.

Judy said at the meeting:
> She spoke about the spreading of the viruses as to the vectors involved
> and the varroa mite is precisely one of them.
> So it seems that the eradication of the mite may  somehow be the only way
> out of this problem.

I have read, spoke with and listened to the experts. I came away with the
same conclusion Walter.
The important point here is controlling varroa is what all beeks can do
while waiting for a better solution which may or may not come.

Before you can even begin to claim CCD you need to have varroa under control
AND nosema ceranae.
If you have the above under control you are well on the way to successful
beekeeping today.

My opinion for what its worth:
To keep virus at bay you need to be able to control varroa in the 90% range.
Less control if you run Russian, hygienic or varroa tolerant bees.

Control of nosema ceranae is poor *if* your equipment is full of spores from
earlier heavy nosema ceranae losses or if your bees are  in last stages of
nosema ceranae.

bob

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