Selective Breeding Sustainably Protects Honey Bees from Varroa Mite
upstart writes:
New Breed of Honey Bees a Major Advance in Global Fight Against Parasitic Varroa Mite:
A new breed of honey bees provides a major advance in the global fight against the parasitic Varroa mite, new research shows.
[...] "The Varroa mite is the greatest threat to managed honey bee colonies globally," said Dr. Thomas O'Shea-Wheller, of the Environment and Sustainability Institute at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
"So far, new methods to control the mites - and the diseases that they carry - have had limited success, and the mites are becoming increasingly resistant to chemical treatments. It's a ticking time-bomb."
On the whole, European bees do not identify and remove bee larvae infested with the mites, known as Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH), but some hive individuals do. The researchers have been selectively breeding for this trait and have field-tested these colonies with great success, seeing a two-fold increase in colony survival.
"The great thing about this particular trait is that we've learned honey bees of all types express it at some level, so we know that with the right tools, it can be promoted and selected for in everyone's bees," said research molecular biologist Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom, of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Dr. O'Shea-Wheller said bee breeding and testing is expensive and takes time, but that breeding mite-resistant bees is cost-effective in the long term, and is likely to be the only sustainable solution to deal with the Varroa pandemic.
Journal Reference:
Shea-Wheller, Thomas A., Rinkevich, Frank D., Danka, Robert G., et al. A derived honey bee stock confers resistance to Varroa destructor and associated viral transmission [open], Scientific Reports (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08643-w)
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