I always like to start the New Year with hopeful signs for bees and beekeepers and am feeling optimistic right now that breeding efforts to control the disease impacts of parasitic mites are starting to have wide success. Controlling mite impacts on honey bees depends on several lines of attack, from effective breeding schemes for hygienic or mite-repelling bees to a battery of chemical and management controls. While nothing is permanent since the mites generally fight back, mite levels in wisely managed colonies are not much higher than they were in past decades. Still, the remaining mites seem to have a greater impact on colony health even when at low levels. This has shifted the blame to bee stress and disease as great hazards for bee losses. Weknow that Varroa mites move viruses around in bees, and that these same viruses are important for bee health. Why do the viruses moved by mites seem to cause more harm currently, and how can we deflect this viral curse?
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