Hello All,
I was going to email this new information directly to Randy Oliver as might 
be useful in an article but decided to post instead.

I was raised in Florida and have kept close contact with beekeepers in 
Florida for most of my life. I have made at least one trip a year to 
Florida and at times many trips.

I reported on BEE-L that I saw bees in Florida crashing from virus( PMS) 
when varroa loads were not above what Keith Delaplane and others considered 
treatment threshold. I told Keith so this fall at the KHPA meeting. He was 
suprised.

My own testing which I also reported on BEE-L showed comb on which bees 
have crashed from varroa and have displayed parasitic mite syndrum (PMS) 
signs will crash from virus with varroa loads below what is considered by 
our researchers to be high enough to warrent treatment the next time a 
swarm is placed on the PMS comb.

UNLESS THE VARROA IS KEPT IN CHECK

 I suggested changing all PMS brood comb. 

I shared on BEE-L about how  one large Florida beekeeper would run his 
deadout comb through a bogi uncapper and cut half the comb off to help with 
virus.

I was told today that to combat the PMS comb problem commercial beekeepers 
in Florida are using radiation on brood comb to kill the virus. The cost I 
was told was$6 a box or $12 a double hive. 

The radiation process is time consuming and I would recommend replacing 
comb but my source said radiation does kill all virus on comb.

In many areas commercial beekeepers have used so many chemicals in hives 
and have had hives crash several times with PMS that those beekeepers are 
having big troubles keeping hives alive. 

Uncontaminated wax and brood comb which has never had PMS signs is step one 
to keeping a healthy hive today.

Again and worth repeating:

Varroa in check then no PMS. 

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

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