> Lloyd Spear

>     The researcher set up two-hive pallets.  In the spring he removed all=
>  drone cells from each hive.  In one hive he substituted drawn foundation=
>  with no drone brood.  In the other hive he provided drawn drone foundati=
> on so that drone cells amounted to 20% of total cells in the hive.  This =
> experiment was run for three years.

I'm curious about whether he noticed any other differences between the
colonies.  Do you know?  Some say that Drones serve no purpose other than
transportation of genetics between queens.  Others wonder whether they might
not benefit the hive in other ways that we do not know about.  I find the
question interesting - it would seem awfully inefficient to me if the drones
provided no benefit to their parent colonies aside from passing on the
genetics, especially in the view of the energy cost you mention.

I have also heard that a colony with no drone cells to lay in will simply
create some.  In the experiment you mention the colonies were started
without drone cells.  Was that just to delay drone production, or was there
little to no dr0one production throughout the season?

> As for selecting for mites that prefer worker cells.  Think about the mat=
> h.  Using 20% as the "natural" number of drone cells, that means the equi=
> vilant of 4 frames of drone cells out of a two-deep brood nest.  If I sup=
> ply just two frames of drone foundation, I am only supplying 50% of the n=
> umber of drone cells likely to be used.  Lot's of room for more drone lar=
> vae, while still killing lots of Varroa mites.

You seem to be saying that as long as you leave some drone brood you cannot
be selecting for mites that infect worker brood.  I think that is faulty
logic.  *Any* removal of drone breeding Varroa applies pressure in that
direction.  If you remove 10% of them then you apply less pressure than if
you remove 75%, but I think this just changes the rate at which the trait
will evolve, not the direction you are heading.

I am not a biologist - perhaps someone who is could jump in and comment on
what I've just said.

Frank.
-----
The very act of seeking sets something in motion to meet us;
something in the universe, or in the unconscious responds as if
to an invitation.  - Jean Shinoda Bolen