Hi All,
I got buried this past year by bee work, bee research, writing, and speaking engagements. I apologize for letting ScientificBeekeeping fall behind. I realize that I bit off more than I could chew last year, resulting in my not being able to attend to my own beekeeping operation (with my sons), maintenance of my garden, orchard, and property, nor my family. So I'm cutting back on speaking engagements, and making a strong effort to catch up.
I've now posted over a dozen new articles--go to the bottom of: http://scientificbeekeeping.com/articles-by-publication-date/
I've also updated some of my recent reviews--see News and Blogs.
I've recently been speaking on my concern that amitraz is beginning to fail, which will force many commercial beekeepers to learn new tricks. Along that line, I've been testing alternative mite treatment methods. I'll publish the results soon.
Donors--be aware that I re-donate some of your donations to other researchers needing funding, especially when I can use your donations to leverage additional donations.
A couple of years ago, the eminent varroa researcher Dr. Steven Martin asked me to help him obtain funding for a project, which I then did through Project Apis m (for which I'm a scientific advisor). I'm thrilled that the donors to ScientificBeekeeping can take credit for putting several thousand dollars towards this research (which I re-donated to PAm in order to leverage additional funding).
Dr. Martin and collaborators have now released the first of some incredibly exciting findings in the paper "Superinfection exclusion and the long-term survival of honey bees in Varroa-infested colonies."
http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ismej2015186a.html
In short, the researchers found that there are competing strains of DWV. The benign B form can suppress the infection by the virulent A form.
The authors' concluding paragraph suggests the potential implications of the findings, which may also explain the success of some "treatment free" beekeepers or feral populations of bees.
"The discovery of a potential SIE mechanism in honey bees gives those wishing to limit or eradicate the sources of honey bee colony decline the possibility of active intervention. For example, in the citrus industry, where SIE is used to reduce crop losses by inoculating plants with a benign variant of Citrus tristeza virus to protect against infection by a more pathogenic form. Accordingly, the direct introduction of DWV type B could provide a form of biocontrol against further collapse of European honey bee colonies in the face of Varroa infestation."
This is one of the most exciting findings in recent years. I may well use more of your donations to support further research in this direction (I've already started the process).
Happy beekeeping!
Randy
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