> I said in the post that I was using varroa 'as the main problem, and a
> marker'.  So resistance to varroa is what I meant.  With such  resistance
> of
> course you also gain resistance to all the disease organisms  vectored by
> the
> mites.
>

Actually, you do not. You only reduce the number of vectors. Pathogen
resistance is independent of Varroa.

Which may be the reason for Bob's observation that Aussie bees seem to be
more resistant to Varroa. They may be more resistant to the pathogens, hence
can tolerate higher Varroa loads. This would make them more desirable to be
brought to the US even though they have not encountered Varroa, which seems
counter intuitive.

We have seen this in the US and Canada where some bees seem to tolerate
Varroa loads that cause other bees to easily succumb. It is not Varroa but
the pathogens in that area.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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