Photo Courtesy of Scott Bauer / USDA Agricultural Research Service / Forestry Images
Here , a varroa mite is on the back of a honey bee .
In the forties , researcher form to solve the wellness challenge ofAmerican foulbroodinhoneybeesfound that these awesome animal can smell diseases in their own evolve brood . Hivespracticing good hygiene can observe and clean out unhealthful brood - keeping disease from spreading further .
Building on this cognition , Jeff Harris , a enquiry bugologist at theUSDA , ARS Honey Bee Breeding , Genetics and Physiology Research Labin Baton Rouge , La. , has been charged with breed bee to be tolerant tovarroa mites .
“ It become out that when you bring out bee that are good at keeping out American foulbrood or Chalkbrood , they are also fairly good at remove varroamitesfrom their hives , ” Harris explicate .
Breeding bees is a slow appendage . Since only one generation of bee can be develop in a year ’s metre , it can take a few year to attain resistance and then determine how the bees are repellent . Harris has been able to identify Apis mellifera that are capable of the hygiene to eliminate Varroa in make grow cells . CalledVarroa Sensitive Hygiene , or VSH bee , the animals display nest - cleaning behaviors that are good for their colony .
Varroa Mite Development
Varroa jot are tiny , fast - moving sponger up to of attaching themselves to both the adult and developing honeybee . The grownup - female varroa put her eggs in brood cells provide offspring to run on the developing bee pupa . The result is baby bees that are scrawny and weakened enough to be more susceptible to the spread of viruses .
The bee that Harris has been raise smell the mite inside the brood cell and kill off the offspring to keep the tinge from exploding inside the dependency .
Further Investigation
While Harris has been at study breeding for VSH , Dr. Greg Hunt , a bee medical specialist at Purdue University in West Lafayette , Ind. , has been genetically selecting bees for increase grooming behavior .
“ We are select for increased grooming conduct by looking at the proportionality of chewed mites that fall from bee , ” Hunt articulate . “ We have develop a lab check that correlate with the chewed mite results . ” Hunt has unpublished information meditate his ability to map chromosomal regions that influence bee neaten behaviour .
“ Greg ’s expertness is looking for the markers in bee I produced , ” Harris explain . A process that hire 4 to 6 month of field testing has been reduce to hour in terms of identify the most desirable VSH world-beater .
Fielding Better Bees
Dave Shenefield , owner ofClover Blossom Honeyhas a Specialty Crop Grant from theIndiana State Department of Agricultureto make more mite - tolerant , hardy queens useable in Indiana .
Through the Duncan James Corrow Grant he is teachingbeekeepershow to raise their own queens and quality for resistance . Shenefield received two artificial - insemination machine so that he can work with subsister stock from unlike bee breeder . The utilisation of farm animal from dissimilar breeders enable his project to maintain a high point of diversity while reducing the risk of inbreeding .
“ I ’ve been go with Dr. Hunt on the maturation of speck - resistant bloodline for about 20 years , ” Shenefield says . “ I feel it was a must for Indiana to rise its own queen undertaking , where we get genetically diverse stocks and propagate them throughout the country to hopefully help confirm beekeeping in Indiana . ”
According to Shenefield , theplightof honeybees has brought a circumstances of new citizenry to the avocation . the great unwashed are interested and want to help and get involved by learning to keep bees and establishing their own hives .
Through his grant , Shenefield is bringing diversity to the Indiana bees and while teaching new beekeepers how to develop their own mite - resistive hives . He ’s also learn about incorporate pest management — nonchemical approaches to treating for touch .
“ My personal ruling is that hobbyists do n’t have to use chemicals to ascendency mites , ” Harris summate . “ Glenn Apiaries , in [ Fallbrook ] California , has experts and is the largest vendor of stock breeder queen . Purebred VSH breeders are being crossed with non - VSH drones to make outcrop VSH bee . The outcrop VSH bee prevent the potential drop for inbreeding among the VSH line . ”
Purchasing VSH outcrop bee enable hobby beekeepers to maintain chemical substance - free hives . Without the chemical substance , hobby apiculturist can avoid all concerns about contaminant of coxcomb , wax andhoney .
But , Shenefield says , “ A pouf that ’s mated in your own bee yard is likely the best queen mole rat to have . ”
