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Sat, 11 Nov 2006 11:57:14 -0500 |
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You wrote:
>> When you take a large number of hives and leave untreated (Live and let
die
>> method) then the result is always the same. Hive of bees which is not
>> prolific ARE the survivors!
You wrote:
>Yes that's what I believe too. Those bees will not be useful for
>anything other than pets….
Hello All,
This aspect of the colonies development of suppression is fascinating, and
is where a major focus in breeding is directed.
Another very high priority of mine is the collecting of feral honeybees
from ‘all places’ and assessing them 'against each other' for comparative
analysis of traits. And in these comparative assessments, I am seeing
what appears to be two distinct and diverging selective responses that
honeybee colonies are employing against varroa.
Something to watch for that I am seeing:
1) Is the propensity thru ‘natural selection’ for traits affecting brood
viability ranging from 82% to 87% to develop and or smaller brood areas as
a means of varroa suppression. And the main driving force in this case as
far as I can tell seems to be lack of most traits affecting colony
fecundity which also have a correlating affect on varroa fecundity.
2) Another response I am seeing is one that fly’s in the face of
conventional wisdom. Some feral varroa resistant colonies are exhibiting
brood viability of an astounding 98% to 100% and are showing a much higher
degree of traits associated with colony fecundity, but with no apparent
increase in varroa population. Not sure what the driving force here is,
but I am hypnotizing that these colonies have developed other traits
associated with varroa suppression. And as a result, there was no
pressure for the selection of traits that promote 'lack of fecundity' as a
means of varroa suppression.
I have a theory concerning the different ‘natural selective pressures’
that are associated with selective process behind each of these mite
suppression tactics, but I assume it will be too controversial for this
list. Those interested, I would love to discuss this, please contact me
off list.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries'
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/
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