Wow.
Thank you, Peter and Juanse, for such wonderful info!
I'm trying to understand what conclusion to draw:
1. Would it be correct to suggest that a 'best course action', IF we were
concerned about the ultimate survival of honeybees and factored out losses
to beekeepers, crops, etc, might be to manage hives without antibiotics, and
other meds, and allow for natural selection to create resistances?
2. How mights chemicals/meds play with the ability of populations to NOT
develop natural resistance in times or for the viruses/bacteria to develop
anti-chemical resistances themselves?
3. Is it possible that the answer to controlling CCD lies in both
reducing/removing manufactured 'toxins' and meds from the environment, as
well as introducing viruses in controlled 'test' apiaries, allowing the bees
to naturally develop immunities (am guessing this will be expensive since
one would need hundreds of hives) and then nurturing and retintroducing the
resistant strains into 'cleaner' environments?
4. Are pollutants also able to insert themselves into the DNA of living
organisms and create 'dna junk' which actually, unbeknowst to us, causes
permanent effects? In honeybees, where generations are much shorter than
humans, this could quickly develop permanent problems with motor location,
etc...
5. One of the things I have heard about CCD is that robbers do not enter the
hive for days after the flight of the workers. I also believe that honeybees
are very chemically scent sensitive....is it possible that the otherwise
healthy brood and queen takes on the scent of pollutants, meds, chemicals
etc to a point where it is either a) repulsive to the workers above and
beyond tolerance or b) obscures the 'scent' of both pheremones and honey
stores c) builds up on the bodies of the workers to such a degree that they
cannot/do not remain in hive?
Has anyone taken capped brood from collapsed hives, inserted it into a new
hive with new workers and a new queen, and seen what has happened? Do these
workers leave also? Does the new group swarm?
If you know of anyone who has done this and what the results have been, I
would love to find out more.
Thanks!
:)A
--
"When the well runs dry, we learn the worth of water" - Benjamin Franklin
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