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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
"Peter L. Borst" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:49:53 -0400
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Steve Noble wrote:

>   I am wondering if this is absolutely, undeniably, categorically,
>irrefutably true or if, on the other hand, the fact that mites suck most of
>the life out of bee pupae has anything to do with it. 

Well, it would take some time for me to dig up irrefutable proof. In the
meantime there's this from an old article:

> Researchers [are] not certain exactly how -- or even whether -- the mites
themselves cause bee colonies to die. For instance, damage by varroa mites
to individual bees is difficult to detect. Instead, researchers blame the
colony deaths on "parasitic mite syndrome." 

> "We believe tracheal and varroa mites are the major contributing factor in
these colony deaths, but viruses and other pathogens, possibly transmitted
by the mites, also may be involved," Camazine says. "We need to solve the
mystery of exactly why these mite-infested bees are dying. Do infested bees
have a lower cold tolerance? Do the mites directly damage bees? Do they
spread viral infection or weaken the bees' immune system, allowing other
diseases to kill them?"

> Bees always have been subject to diseases, parasites, and predators. Some
affect the brood, while others affect adult bees ... but the researchers
suspect that mites may put stress on the colony, raising the impact of
otherwise minor diseases. The end result is poor brood production, a
dwindling colony population, and eventual colony death.

http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/PSA/ws98/bees.html

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