randy oliver wrote:
>
> Bill, we had collapses before varroa, so IMO, varroa would be classed 
> as a secondary contributor.  But a damn strong contributor nonetheless.
As I noted before, Varroa and the bees can get along with high Varroa 
loads if there is not added factor, such as virus. Then it depends on 
which virus, since there are many.

There were collapses before Varroa but the most recent were caused by 
Tracheal, again a mite that can be in a colony with no problems unless 
there are added factors.

It is a semantic issue since, I agree, that Varroa is not the killer, 
but it is the door opener for the pathogens to do their work. Just as 
Tracheal mites were earlier.

My contention is that most reported CCD in the eastern US is Varroa 
related. The reports in the west (where you are), which were the 
original ones, seem to have no common base, including Varroa, but there 
was a drought which may have muddied the water. If there is something 
that causes CCD, the answer is in the west, not the east.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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