Dick Allen wrote

> 1988. Varroa jacobsoni does reproduce in worker cells
of Apis cerana in South Korea. Apidologie 19: 103-106.

This paper precedes Denis Anderson's work.  Denis first presented his paper
at Apimondia in Vancouver in 1999.  So in 1988 what was called Varroa
jacobsoni is now called V. destructor.  As for VJ, I have not seen any
reproduction in worker cells in cerana.

How many worker cells did David de Jong find with offspring in?

Bob Harrison wrote

>Many researchers (not sure of Anderson's opinion) believe that cerana has a
>different juvenile growth hormone with seems to deter varroa from
>reproducing in cerana  worker brood but only an unproven hypothesis but a
>hypothesis I lean to believe (at present time).

I know from talking with Denis he has talked about different levels of
juvenile hormone being the trigger as to whether the varroa lays eggs or
not.  Are there different JH's in workers and drones as Bob suggests is the
case in cerana?

We know that VJ does not lay eggs in Apis mellifera.  It has been suggested
it has something to do with the level of JH.  The secret would be to
identify the level of JH at which laying is triggered particularly in AM by
VD.  Theoretically if you could breed a bee that produces lower levels of
the JH then you solve the varroa problem.

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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