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. “Localization of deformed wing virus infection in queen and drone Apis mellifera L” "Queen fecundity is a central element in colony performance for honey production that could be impaired by viral infections. For instance, the undesired queen supersedure observed regularly by beekeepers may be related to viral infections. There are several reasons for untimely queen changing by workers in a colony, such as pathological impairment of its reproductive functions, lack of pheromone emission and lack of fully active spermatozoa in the spermatheca and decreasing sperm viability with the ageing of queens. Very few investigations have been published regarding factors affecting the fertility of the queens and the drones" ---------> In this study, researchers find that some viruses were present on all queens tested. “Prevalence and Transmission of Honeybee Viruses” “Distribution of viruses in the body of queens. The results of RT-PCR analysis on tissues of hemolymph, gut, ovaries, spermatheca, head, and eviscerated body from 10 queens for the presence of six viruses are shown in Table 1. Among the six viruses screened, ABPV was not found in any materials. BQCV, CBPV, DWV, KBV, and SBV were detected in one or more queen tissues. Except for tissues of the head, which were negative for all six viruses, the other five tissue samples were found to be virus positive. The presence of DWV was found in 100% of hemolymph samples, 80% of gut samples, 100% of ovary samples, 80% of spermatheca samples, and 100% of eviscerated body samples. The presence of BQCV was found in 100% of gut samples and 70% of ovary samples. The presence of SBV was found in 40% of ovary samples, 20% of hemolymph samples, and 60% of eviscerated body samples. The presence of CBPV was found in 30% of hemolymph and 40% of eviscerated body samples. The presence of KBV was found in 20% of the eviscerated body samples.” Best Wishes, Joe Waggle Ecologicalbeekeeping.com ‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' Feral Bee Project: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/ -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---