In message  <[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
buffalo.edu writes:
> Do the tracheal and varolla mites affect the invading african bees
> in the same way they affect our domesticated and feral honey bees?
> Mick Youther<[log in to unmask]>
 
My  limited  knowledge  here  suggests  that  all  the  Apis   Mellifera
subspecies will be affected much the same because their body structures,
life cycles and so on are all pretty much the same.
 
As far as I am aware there are only a very few Apis  Mellifera  colonies
in  the  world  that  are  showing any resistance at all to Varroa and I
haven't heard of any particular advantage  (or  disadvantage)  that  the
Africanised varieties might have.
 
I believe  that  the  main  resistance  factor  for  tracheal  mites  is
essentially  mechanical  because  the mites can only infest a bee during
the first few days of  its  life  when  its  tracheal  hairs  are  still
pliable.   I  am  led  to  understand that bees whose tracheal hairs are
stiffer at emergence, or stiffen up more quickly  after  emergence,  are
more resistant simply because the mites can't get in.
 
Anyone have any further info?
 
--
Gordon Scott    [log in to unmask]         100332,3310 on CompuServe
Newsletter      [log in to unmask]      ditto
                Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor.
                Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK
 
He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap.