DW>From: D Warr <[log in to unmask]>
  >Date:         Thu, 19 Dec 1996 17:52:48 +0000
  >Subject:      Old insects
 
DW>Why is it that the direct ancestors of insects found in resin 42 milion
  >years old, will today die out in large numbers from the attack of a Varroa
  >mite of equal pedigree. Surely in all that time similar threats have been
  >dealt with successfully?
 
We are assuming everything written on varroa is the Word from Above,.
 
Actually beekeepers in many areas do well without chemical control in
spite of varroa which seem to reach a certain level maybe 4%-8%+- and
does not cause the collapse of the hive as many report., This varroa
loss is mostly based on antidotal reports after the fact and has not
or can not bee duplicated under controlled conditions.
 
My own opinion has not changed and that is that much of the disastrous
loss seen by so many, and I include myself, is nothing more then a
re-manifestation of a reoccurring age old problem beekeepers have
reported for at least 100 years. I suspect it may be viral in nature,
and comes and goes depending on many variables found in our bees
environment, one of which may indeed be the varroa mite but not limited
to it.
 
In any case a beekeeper must use the best of his own value system and
decide if prevented treatment for varroa is the way to go. Most I fear
have jumped on the chemical merry go around which is par for
agricultural in general and a reason why beekeepers have and continue
to suffer massive loss from pesticides each year as farmers have a
right to protect themselves from perceived pest treats the same as
beekeepers.
 
Socially it can not be all bad as jobs are created when we buy
chemicals, stock holders get dividends, publishers receive
advertisement income, seller's make mark ups, and science and regulators
get theirs along with governments. And if the loss of bees continues its
only because beekeepers misused the product, or did not read or could
not read directions and has nothing to do with the efficacy of the
products which is based 100% on good faith, ours,...in all of the above.
 
All of this brings to mind the beekeeper/queen breeder at UC Davis, a
student from Greece who was working on varroa research that demonstrated
the disastrous effects they would have on his queen rearing at home
because of the loss of drones. The research was technically correct in
all respects with the exception it never has happened in spite of the
varroa and the efforts of beekeepers to eliminate drones as the host.
 
                        ttul, the OLd Drone
 
 
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