>>>The latter reportedly cannot suppress varroa very well, but the SMR
bees do suppress mite reproduction quite well -- just not the way the
researchers initially thought.<<<

Since the onset of the search for Varroa tolerant/resistant bees I have
rationalized that the first thing needed was a bee that "knew one when it
saw one".  Perhaps both strains are "hygienic" for the same reasons but
SMR "recognizes" Varroa as a foreign entity and something to be "cleaned
out" whereas Spivak's HYG bees are "barn blind" in that respect.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that Varroa are so "integrated" into
their host biology that they utilize some hemolymph contents directly,
i.e. without digesting them.  Composed of bee material as they are, bees
need to "recognize" them as different.   Bees, of whatever species.
already have grooming behaviors, etc. to deal with external parasites and
"unhealthy brood".  These can be co-opted, for use against Varroa, by
Apis mellifera only when they "see" Varroa , for what it "really" is,
rather than just another appendage.

Rip

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