thanks for sharing. I will certainly add robbing screens/tunnels to my
management change list this year.
Permissiveness is a great trait description and probably a better
descriptor than aggressiveness for varroa. (albeit they are probably linked)
Permissiveness could be also explained that the colonies "smell weak" and
therefore are targeted more.
Another explanation could be that the "skinny/hungry" hive finds it tougher
to send away "tourists" that took a wrong turn bringing gifts in the form
of pollen/nectar/workforce.
Looking at paper that identifies that the shared microbiome of a colony is
the cue for recognizing own/foreign bees (via change of odour profile of
the bees) (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/42/eabd3431) and
combining that knowledge with the high impact on varroa on the honey bee
microbiome and immune system it is plausible that varroa messes with
permissiveness via messing up the "own hive smell".
one thing I noticed on my hives that are positioned in a row where bees
have to enter from the sides because the frontal direction is blocked: the
edge colonies seem to have it worse in regards to mites and winter survival
odds.
Has Anyone made different or similar observations?
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