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Subject:
From:
Keith Benson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 4 Jul 2008 09:01:32 -0400
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Bob Harrison wrote:
> Jim said:
>> And if you think that you can stop AHB cold, let's
>> hear your idea in detail.
> The plan put forward to stop AHB in its tracks or at least slow 
> movement to a crawl was to place American foulbrood tainted syrup plus 
> AFB comb in traps in several lines at the narrow strip of remote area 
> in Panama through which the AHb had to pass through. its highly 
> unlikely at least a few bees of each swarm would not bring in some of 
> the spores.

I think it would result in a brief pause, and then when the only AHB 
colonies left in the area were resistant, they would start to move. 
> The bees would slow to a crawl and then die. Other swarms coming 
> through would also rob the dead nests or move into and then die.
I think they would, as a population, pause for a moment, and then it 
would be business as usual, or darned close to usual. 

> On the plus side the genius which devised the plan thought that if any 
> swarms made it through they would be resistant to American foulbrood 
> which would please Dr. Rothenbuler and add valuable genetics to our 
> gene pool.
Ahhhh - hardier AHB, is that a good thing?  What other genetics would 
they bring to the party?  Perhaps some of the genes you are trying to 
exclude using this method?
> I would be careful of criticizing the plan as the sharpest minds in 
> beekeeping agreed at a national meeting the plan was sound and was a 
> *drastic* but workable solution based on the dire problems the arrival 
> of AHB would have on Mexican & U.S. beekeeping ( according to above 
> researchers).
Careful smareful.  Sharp minds are not always right, they may be 
terribly bright beekeepers and scientists, but that doesn't make them 
experts when it comes to using biological controls on the scale 
discussed above.  If the idea is sound it will do well whether some 
genius cooked it up or some patent clerk had some time to think on it.  
Releasing disease agents rarely works for long as populations usually 
respond and rebound.  Think myxomatosis in rabbits.  How populations 
interact with a pathogen is another ball game altogether from how 
individuals deal with pathogens. 
>   The beekeeper which worked out the plan had made over a dozen trips 
> south to study AHB.
Studying AHB itself is merely a portion of the puzzle.  This is not 
beekeeping, it is biological warfare.

I know some folks advocate shaking an AFB infected colony onto 
foundation as a method of control, I wonder how that plus the rather 
higher rate of absconding that has been reported in AHB play into this plan?

I am not saying it won't work, there is really only one way to know, but 
it isn't as rock solid an idea as is suggested, at least similar 
deployments haven't been.  Who knows, maybe this will be an exception.

Keith

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