On Wed, 31 Jan 1996 22:20:07 -0500, Vince Coppola wrote:
....
 
>                                         There is debate over the exact
>        cause of these symptoms but some research indicates that viruses
>        are being spread by varroa mites. The viruses found in affected brood
>        and adults are not "new viruses" but have existed externaly on
>        honeybees.
 
According to the experiences of our beekeepers this may be the right
explanation. (No scientific research was done in this sense.) There
exists an experience, too, that some colonies are MUCH more resistant
against viruses and survive the first wave of losses which follows the
varroa infestation. (It seems like the succeptibility to viruses were
more dangerous than the mites themselves.)
 
>        This past fall many of our bees were in poor condition or dead with
>        these symptoms. In two yards with about 35 col. each, there were only
>        7-9 alive at my last fall visit.
 
And those colonies are than VALUABLE material for selection. Its very
simple to raise queens from them and so RAPIDLY lessen those losses
caused by the secondary infection of viruses. Then the following step -
the protection of colonies against mites themselves brings much better
results. But since things are not black and white only, Varroa mites also
contribute to higher percentage of real brood diseases among colonies, so
one has to be very careful in evaluating the causes (to count with the
worse variant).
 
Best regards,
Vladimir Ptacek
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