Interesting Article about Bees Adapting to control Mites

[tbonekel]

I thought this was an interesting look at bees and how they are attempting to deal with mites.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/08/some-honeybee-colonies-adapt-wake-deadly-mites

[efmesch]

Interesting article. 

I got a chuckle from the pop-up caption of the picture which appears after holding the pointer over the picture for a few seconds--"bee with might on back".  Could it be a mighty mite? 

[Perry]

Seems Dr. Seeley is delving into the "small cell" theory.

[tbonekel]

Regarding small cells and small bees, it's amazing the different sizes of bees that are in my hives. As I watch them at the water supply, there are some really big ones and some really small ones as well. Very interesting.

[apisbees]

Now that they have a surviving feral colonies, they need to put some swarms into hives to determine if they are what is desired by beekeepers in there apiaries. how is there temperament? How much surplus honey will they produce? I don't know of many beekeepers that want to keep bees that wont produce honey. What will happens when you start to reintroduce more genetic diversity? Will the loose there ability to control the mites?
As we know swarming and the breaks in the brood cycle it produces is a effective means of mite control. Perhaps the feral colonies that have survived are extremely swarmy bees and manage to out life cycle the mights.
It would be nice to see these bees in managed colonies to see what the smaller gene pool that seems to control the mite looks like.

[Perry]

Good point. It seems to me that AHB are adept at controlling mites, ostensibly because they swarm so often. Who would want those?

[LazyBkpr]

Now that they have a surviving feral colonies, they need to put some swarms into hives to determine if they are what is desired by beekeepers in there apiaries. how is there temperament? How much surplus honey will they produce? I don't know of many beekeepers that want to keep bees that wont produce honey. What will happens when you start to reintroduce more genetic diversity? Will the loose there ability to control the mites?
As we know swarming and the breaks in the brood cycle it produces is a effective means of mite control. Perhaps the feral colonies that have survived are extremely swarmy bees and manage to out life cycle the mights.
It would be nice to see these bees in managed colonies to see what the smaller gene pool that seems to control the mite looks like.

  This is almost exactly what I was going to post. Thanks Apis!



The surviving bees evolved to be smaller, suggesting these bees might require less time to develop. Since the mites infest nursery cells in hives, the shorter development time may allow young bees to develop into adulthood before the mites can finish their development. Mite-resistant honeybees in Africa are also small and have short development times, Seeley said

   I dont see anything about swarming as a possibility for survival. I find it hard to think that it may be overlooked with Seely working on the project.

[LazyBkpr]

I was curious so I sent a mail;

   
Excellent article!
   It leaves one question un answered in my mind.   What about the possibility of prolific swarming as a means of survival?  Perhaps not for an individual colony, but for the genetic line?
   With Dr. Seely involved I do not believe this possibility was overlooked, so before I pass on the article I would like to hear thoughts and theories?
   Thanks!
 Keep up the excellent work!
   Scott Sievers
   www.outyard.net


  and I got a reply;


Dear Scott,

I’m honored by your interest.   And the answer to your question is yes, I have strong evidence that colonies that live in small hives/nest cavities and so swarm at least annually are able to survive surprisingly well without mite treatments, despite being infested with Varroa, as are all the colonies in the Arnot Forest.

Your question is a spur to me to get that study written up and published.  Basically, it involved comparing the dynamics of mite and bee populations of colonies living in either a 1-deep hive body hive or in 4-deep hive body hives. 

My best,

Tom

Thomas D. Seeley
Horace White Professor in Biology
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853, USA



   

[Zweefer]

Wow, that was fast!