<Bob> said to Jerry B .
<Research at Penn State.... queen passes the virus on in her eggs and
every bee which emerges
is infected> Yes, and Bill Wilson thought disappearing disease may have
been from a genetic defect (i.e., queen related - maybe it wasn't a defect but a
queen transferred virus? Just a guess.)
<Also when looking at CCD you first need to eliminate the common everyday
problems> (that's why we need beekeepers to fill out our survey at
_www.beesurvey.com_ (http://www.beesurvey.com) ). With multiple variables, we need to
know what those affected have been doing And EQUALLY important, hear from
some who have never experienced CCD -- and I mean relatively large scale, long
term beekeepers. If you've only had bees two years and have 1 hive, your
information isn't going to help tell us what might work to stop this thing.
<Not possible in most cases as your tests are showing tracheal and varroa
mites> This is not correct, only tracheal was in recoverying bees, and yes,
viruses were found - but not at level normally considered to be above
background. Only a few of the field cases (looking in hives in all of the state's
we've visited) have revealed much, if any deformed wings, etc.
<Many cases EFB & AFB. In most cases around three viruses present.> This
statement is out of context. Viruses were present in samples taken just after
first collapse - but not at high levels. EFB only showed up weeks later, on
collapsed equipment. David Westervelt and I did not see EFB or AFB in Fl or
CA in recently collapsed colonies. David and Jeff both reported that EFB
showed up later in FL -- probably because the remnant bee population couldn't
keep up the brood nest with lots of chilled off brood. Initial results did
show a fungus in the guts of many bees - remains to be seen whether this
happens in ALL cases for many different states. And the new Nosema was in one
hive in FL, but also found in TN - and Jeff has other information about this
across the U.S., but it may/may not be correlated with the cases of CCD seen. I
doubt that its the cause, another of the its there, but not the smoking gun.
<In most cases comb contamination from past varroa miticide use.> Well,
many beekeepers were using all kinds of chemicals, often illegal, often more
than one at a time. PA has found traces of one chemical that they were looking
for - in one set of samples, but it was a crop applied chemical. To my
knowledge, the results from all sites and from the rest of the team aren't in - I
know my chemists are still working on samples, haven't verified initial
results, so we haven't said this.
That said, common sense dictates that using off label chemicals and
unspecified dosages and other things we saw ARE NOT GOOD and are likely to end up
with contaminants in comb. In fact, I'm surprised that some beekeepers didn't
kill their bees outright when throwing multiple chemicals in a hive, all at
the same time. But, right next to them were beekeepers who DID NOT do this,
and I've got an organic beekeeper who experienced this on new comb.
<To top things off several weather related problems could cause CCD like
symptoms.>
Our surveys go into a database linked to Google Earth AND to weather data.
We've seen some interesting correlations for specific locations like those in
Florida. Again, on a national level, we need beekeeper input. Weather per
se is not likely to cause CCD symptoms, but it may trigger something else,
just like all of the other stressors mentioned above, and other stresses like
trucking bees, poor nutrition, etc.
<Also beekeeper neglect . >
Some of the worst cases were not stunning examples of good beekeeping - but
other beekeepers who were doing a good job also had the disorder.
<AND lets not forget off spec fructose, pesticides and pollen contamination.>
Our chem analysis should answer the off spec fructose question, and we and
the rest of the team has asked for additional funding to address a wide
spectrum look at pesticides and pollen contamination. NHB made the first
contribution, and it went to PA for their virus work and to send Dennis and Dave to CA.
I've a freezer full of samples. And, my company and the Army has already
spent more than $20k just getting out there to look at CCD and collect samples
- we (my team) has been in PA, GA, FL, and three weeks in CA.
If anyone wants to donate to a war chest to pay for some of these tests --
PAms has agreed to serve as the banker for the CCD and to not charge for any
account service) Chris Heintz says
Please send contributions to:
Project Apis m.
1750 Dayton Rd.
Chico, CA 95928
Have the contributor put “CCD” in the memo line.
<he sad problem ...without taking positive steps to correct the problem you
are
going to see the same thing next fall>. I agree, but we don't know the real
source of the problem, so we can't suggest corrective action, other than be
better beekeeper - which MAY NOT solve the problem.
My one specific recommendation, don't combine affected colonies or add
packages to them - this thing looks likes its communicable.
<Tossing in another package this spring may not be the correct move>.
That's been tried, worked in some case for the short term, but did not work in
others -- whole yards were lost when 'healthy' bees were added to affected
colonies. Similarly, bringing affected bees into yards of apparently healthy bees
often resulted in all of the colonies being affected, failing.
As per what someone did/did not say -- the CCD is still trying to get a fix
on the nature of the problem. Lots of guesses, and I have my own, but I've
also changed opinion since I've seen so many cases in so many areas. As per
my own smarts - haven't solved this yet. Funny, the CSI teams on TV do this
in an hour.
Jerry
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