Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DISEASE & PEST CONTROL => Topic started by: Understudy on October 05, 2007, 10:05:23 am

Title: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Understudy on October 05, 2007, 10:05:23 am
I am reading conflicting reports.
My understanding is that Varroa jacobsoni is a non destructive version of the mite that gets on bees.
The Varroa destructor is the mite that is capable of destroying apis melifera hives.
Apis Cerana is naturally immune to Varroa because of it's natural grooming habits. Is this due to Varroa jacobsoni ? Or am I just reading this wrong?

Sincerely,
Brendhan
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: randydrivesabus on October 05, 2007, 05:15:35 pm
where are you reading this?
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: TwT on October 05, 2007, 06:14:36 pm
they are the same mite, Varroa jacobsoni is Varroa Destructor
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Understudy on October 05, 2007, 06:16:41 pm
I have spent the past 48 hours reading thesis and disertations enough to cause a persons brain to melt. I have been researching material on Apis Cerana which by some records are able to deal with Varroa.

Well it is always good to go to the source I say. So I did.

I emailed Dr. Otto Boecking of the Bee Institute in Celle, Germany. He has articles published in ABJ on Varroa.

I sent the email just like you saw in my orginal post. The answer was better than the question.  Here is his email.

Dear Brendhan,

 

Varroa is itself available in different species and here in different hablotypes and the parasites of different Honeybees species as the following table shows. Varroa jacobsoni and Varroa destructor are both destructive for the bees. But V. jacobsoni reproduces only in A. cerana. In this host this mite only reproduces in the drone brood. Whereas V. destructor can reproduce in both A. cerana and A. mellifera.

A. cerana are not resistant against Varroa because of the grooming ability – the most reason is the restricted reproduction in drone brood, which is only available in short time periods in the year and in only restricted amounts. The grooming and hygienic behaviours are only additional mechanism to reduce this parasite.

Because you did not sent you address with your mail please let me know where you life and what you are doing

 

Best regards

 

Dr. Otto Boecking


I sent him my address. Attached was a gif file

(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6813/image002zt5.th.gif) (http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image002zt5.gif)

I know it must seem like I am on the verge of meltdown. I am. I am use to dealing with engineers who are basically idoits. I understand they can go to college for four years and come out dumber than they went in. I usually give a break when dealing with the title Dr.
As with most childhood fantasies mine are being washed away by some praticle applications.

The breaking point was Mr. Hays saying that 99% of all feral colonies were destroyed by varroa. I may even give a little on that and say he meant just Florida. Even with that. Based on the number of feral hives tested by the state and the USDA. We didn't reach 90% AHB until last year.  Also trying to find the documentation on the destruction of feral hives by varroa is mainly at this point conjecture from what I can find even in scholarly articles.  Everyone assumes the varroa were destructive to the feral hives but their are no real studies I can find to back it up. Certainly not at a 99% level of destruction.  I have no doubt varroa were nasty mean and destructive but the numbers I am questioning.

I have been emailing Cornell, Davis, UF, and other entomolgy departments, labs and other places to find more reseach because I may be missing something. I would love for someone to be able to say Brendhan, it was 99% and here is the research to prove it.

The sideline is I am learning that there are different species of Varroa. Some are not considered an issue. Such as Jacobsoni. The problems is that the thesis and disertations say the US was invaded by Jacobsoni and it appears that is not the case. So here I am pulling my hair out because people with PhD after their name or Dr. in front of it might not have the right species of Varroa in their reports. And then there are some who might have the right one. The question is who?

Varroa Destructor and jacobsoni are different.

Excuse me I need to start drinking heavily.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: TwT on October 05, 2007, 08:25:26 pm
well Brendhan, looks like you taught me something today, I never knew this

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/bees/varroa_mite.htm
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Understudy on October 05, 2007, 10:49:49 pm
TWT

I am glad that I was. I want more information but I want it to  be accurate. I don't think people want to have the wrong information about these items.

Let's go for the ugly scenerio. What is going to happen if other species of mites make it over here. Maybe Apis Cerana deals okay with Jacobsoni and Destructor. But if Jacobsoni makes it to our shores it may make Destructor look easy.

By the way the link you posted was very good. It had a link in it to this:
http://apis.ifas.ufl.edu/apis97/apmay97.htm#2 (http://apis.ifas.ufl.edu/apis97/apmay97.htm#2)

Which is leading to a thesis about AHB and varroa resistance. More to follow.

My french sucks.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: TwT on October 23, 2007, 08:26:17 pm
here you go understudy, read this one from
Keith S. Delaplane, Professor, Dept. Entomology,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA

http://www.ent.uga.edu/bees/Disorders/guest.htm
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Understudy on October 23, 2007, 09:29:51 pm
TwT

I saw that through one of the links you gave me earlier it was referenced in one of the documents. It is a great paper.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Michael Bush on October 24, 2007, 10:05:15 pm
Like I said:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespests.htm#varroa
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Brian D. Bray on October 25, 2007, 12:34:41 am
>>Let's go for the ugly scenerio. What is going to happen if other species of mites make it over here. Maybe Apis Cerana deals okay with Jacobsoni and Destructor. But if Jacobsoni makes it to our shores it may make Destructor look easy.

No doubt, to a Jacobsoni the Apis Mellifera worker larvae would be as tempting as an Apis Cerana drone.  Just imagine how that mite would explode if on Apis m drone brood.  We could actually see 2 Varroa subspecies vying for dominance in the same hive--That would be a sure killer.
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Finsky on October 25, 2007, 01:25:24 pm
Or am I just reading this wrong?


It depends what you read. Often writings are difficult to understand.

http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/disease/how-apis-cerana-keep-varr.shtml

I has found much genetic variation in Varroa.
http://cyberbee.msu.edu/huangpub/2004Apidol2.pdf

"Only two Varroa genotypes from the large
pool of genotypes present on Asian bees have
been found capable of utilizing the European
honey bee (A. mellifera L.) as an alternative
host, following the introduction of this bee into
Asia during the early 1900’s. These are the
Korea and Japan genotypes of V. destructor,
so-called because they are natural parasites of
A. cerana in Korea and Japan respectively (until
recently the Japan mite was referred to as the
Japan/Thailand genotype, but now is known
simply as the Japan genotype). On their newlyfound
bee host, the Korea and Japan genotypes
become capable of reproducing on both drone
and worker broods, a trait which has led to their
current status as the most serious pests ever of
A. mellifera.
Title: Re: Varroa jacobsoni
Post by: Cindi on October 26, 2007, 12:31:50 am
That Bees for Development site was a very great article on apis cerana and how they deal with varroa jacobsoni.  If anyone did not get a look at that site, I would suggest that you do, it has some great and important learning going on in there. Have a wonderful and beautiful day.  Cindi