I read about this work outside of this forum and it does look very encouraging. My understanding is that the next steps will focus on European foul brood and Nosema. Foul brood is easily mitigated by hygienic bees and neither have been an issue in my operation; I'm more keenly interested in what they develop for nosema. Viral and other bee diseases vectored by mites are best addressed through aggressive mite control. On a separate note, there is a researcher in North Carolina who is developing better ways to test for hygienic behavior in breeder queen stock. I think she's looking for commercial bee breeders to partner with to develop the tool. It is based on the chemical signals that distressed larvae (from mites or a disease) emit that cause hygienic bees to work their magic. Very promising
