J. Waggle wrote:
> Jerry Wallace <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>   
>> Maybe supercedure issue is not all due to chemical usage.  
>>     
>
> My feelings is that the weakened immune of the honeybee caused by chemical 
> use and contaminates in comb is also permitting viruses to impact the 
> health of the colony and queen, causing an increase supercedure rate.
>
> I have some clips from a few studies:
>
> In this study, researchers suggest a connection of viruses with queen 
> supercede.
>   
The issue is with store-bought queens and supercedure. To move it out of 
that arena adds too many variables.

If queen breeders use comaphos in their operations or once used it and 
have not gone to new comb, then cumaphos is the problem. Cumaphos is an 
organophosphate, a group of pesticides that are noted for their effect 
on the reproductive system of just about anything they come in contact 
with. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that if cumaphos is 
present and queens come in contact with it they will be effected.

I saw some store bought queens with Apistan tabs in the queen cage and 
wonder if they are also shipped with cumaphos tabs. If so, all that is 
occurring is an increased probability of a queen with reproductive 
issues. Apistan is fairly benign, and its class of chemical ( 
Pyrethroid) is used by organic gardeners. It operates much differently 
than cumaphos and the queen should be fine.

It is interesting that cumaphos is in the same class as Sevin which is 
deadly to bees, and which we tell neighbors not to use since it kills bees.

The immune system is not at issue as to cumaphose or any of the 
miticides. We know that many viruses are present in a colony but usually 
are at low levels. Add Varroa or Tracheal mites and then they can 
increase and the queen will be affected, but not because of the added 
miticides, since they decrease the mite load, but because of the mite. 
If the miticides were not present at any time, the mites would still 
affect the queen and other bees.

And can we please get a bit more specific. A term like "chemical use" 
convicts every beekeeper who has ever added anything to a hive, 
including wood , nails or the white death, sugar. It also convicts the 
bees since they also bring chemicals into the hive, like sucrose, 
fructose, glucose and water. We are addressing miticides and specific 
miticides at that.

Bill Truesdell (how can we be chemical free when we are composed of 
chemicals?)
Bath, Maine

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