# ARS-Developed Varroa-Resistant Honey Bees Better Winter Survivors



## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

slightly misleading headline for us northern beeks as none of the bees actually went through a winter. "The migration treatments used were as follows; a ‘California’ group, consisting of 156 colonies; 80 Commercial and 76 Pol-line, moved to South Dakota in May, followed by California in October for overwintering and almond pollination, and back to Mississippi at the end of the study "


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

wildbranch2007 said:


> slightly misleading headline for us northern beeks as none of the bees actually went through a winter.


 what they have.


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## James Lee (Apr 29, 2020)

Were these Pol bees isolated when they were developed - and additionally were they isolated whilst demonstrating the success rates in the study?


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

GregB said:


> what they have.


???


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

wildbranch2007 said:


> ???


I mean - this is "what they have as the article title".
Trying to be catchy, I suspect.

Yes - I poorly responded. Sorry.


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## ShelleyStuart (Jan 4, 2010)

With only one year of data, it doesn't look at whether the VSH traits breed out like every other VSH trait. Once these traits breed true, I'm interested.


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## CliffS (May 12, 2021)

For my apiary, I need commercial beekeepers to invest and run VSH stock. Until then the drone population in my area is always tainted and the second my hives requeen mite resistance goes way way way down. It's quite frustrating.


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## ShelleyStuart (Jan 4, 2010)

CliffS said:


> For my apiary, I need commercial beekeepers to invest and run VSH stock. Until then the drone population in my area is always tainted and the second my hives requeen mite resistance goes way way way down. It's quite frustrating.


It goes beyond that IMO. I am in an area with plenty of hobbyists and few(er) commercials, but I have the same problem. When you're breeding for a recessive trait, it's everyone or constant requeening. Call me ornery, but I don't want to buy queens every year. (I just want to sell them. )


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Good find, Greg.

Thinking about the headline, it seems like the most novel finding from the study is not survival per se but the interaction between varroa load and virus load.

While I think their findings are intuitive, it is good to see the scholarship to back it up. Namely, that viral load in-and-of-itself is not a good predictor of colony survival:

_'In addition, overall winter survival, the scientists examined the levels of viruses in Pol-line and standard bee colonies that are commonly transmitted by varroa mites.

The Pol-line colonies showed significantly lower levels of three major viruses: Deformed wing virus A, Deformed wing virus B and Chronic bee paralysis virus, all of which can cause significant problems for colonies.

"Interestingly, when we looked at the levels of virus infection separately from the levels of mite infestation, we found there wasn't a strong correlation between viral loads and colony survival. You could not use the level of these viruses as good predictors of colony losses," Simone-Finstrom said.'

'In agreement with previous studies, Varroa levels were the single strongest predictor of colony mortality for both stocks, diverging as early as June, and peaking in September...'

These findings are relevant to the understanding of DWV-A and DWV-B as causative agents of colony loss. Our data suggest that Varroa, as a factor, consistently has the greatest influence on mortality, likely as it encompasses both the effects of mechanical damage, via feeding, and the transmission of associated pathogens. While DWV and other viruses correlate with colony mortality, and have been shown both to kill, and sub-lethally influence bees, it appears that when these effects are decoupled from their correlation with Varroa levels, their predictive power is significantly reduced. The crucial methodological and diagnostic implication of this, is that, at a minimum, compared to the viruses tested here, Varroa has significant additive power in predicting colony outcome. 

'While such a trend does not dismiss the importance of Varroa-vectored viruses, it does suggest that the harm caused by Varroa feeding itself has been chronically underestimated, and implies that the established paradigm of Varroa-mediated colony loss may be incorrect.' _


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## joebeewhisperer (May 13, 2020)

ShelleyStuart said:


> With only one year of data, it doesn't look at whether the VSH traits breed out like every other VSH trait. Once these traits breed true, I'm interested.


I can move all my bees out, buy a few Italian packages from GA, not treat at all, and it will be the 2nd winter before they perish. Even then maybe 1 of 4 will make it. Don’t think I ever lost a package the first winter in TN. 

Show me 3-4 years of any trait, and you have my attention.


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

ShelleyStuart said:


> With only one year of data





> Honey bees with Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) have good resistance to Varroa destructor.* We bred BPol-line^ bees by outcrossing VSH queens to US commercial stocks from 2008 to 2014* and then selecting colonies with low mite infestations. Beginning in 2011, field performance of colonies with outcrossed Pol-line queens was compared to colonies with outcrossed VSH queens. Mite infestations after one season were comparable in colonies of the two bee types. Queens from the most functional colonies of both bee types were added to the Pol-line breeding population each year. Mite resistance was investigated further by exposing mite-infested brood to colonies for 1 week in lab tests. The two bee types did not differ in the percentage of infested brood they removed or in the percentage of nonreproduction among remaining mites. Introgressing the VSH trait into commercial honey bee stock shows promise in creating bees that have useful mite resistance and desirable beekeeping characteristics.





James Lee said:


> Were these Pol bees isolated when they were developed





> Queens of all three types were grafted from a minimum of five breeder colonies of the appropriate type. Virgin queens were paint-marked before they mated naturally with local drones





https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60500500/PDFFiles/501-600/548-Danka--Selection%20of%20VSH-derived.pdf



At least for me poline has been unattainable
Feb 2020Iwrote a $350 check for an II poline breeder for an "early june 2021" delivery. got a message the last week of july the were ready to ship me a queen.. umm hi, 3 weeks in to the dearth, just made my last catch, drones are being tossed out...
so the order go pushed to 2022..checked in with them in march, oh sold out, should have contacted them this winter to confirm and was promptly offered a refund

what part of you took you check 14 months ago left any part to the imagination that I expected to receive a queen and not just leave my money in your hands till I asked for it back..?

I get it.. its ag... they shujested I should give them a reminder in jan and I didn't till march, but still... but for the 2nd year I don't have a "rockstar" for the CSBA program to push the 48hour cell concept forward 

refund showed up today 
but for the 2nd year in a row I don't have a "rockstar" queen for the CSBA program to push the 48hour cell concept forward


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

msl said:


> https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60500500/PDFFiles/501-600/548-Danka--Selection%20of%20VSH-derived.pdf
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What was the cost of that II breeder, $350? PM me with where/who it was coming from.
When is the optimum time for you to receive a breeder II pol-line queen, June? 
I may be able to help.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

Litsinger said:


> In addition, overall winter survival, the scientists examined the levels of viruses in Pol-line and standard bee colonies that are commonly transmitted by varroa mites.
> 
> The Pol-line colonies showed significantly lower levels of three major viruses: Deformed wing virus A, Deformed wing virus B and Chronic bee paralysis virus, all of which can cause significant problems for colonies.


if we "presume" the virus load is linked to winter survival, and this non local bee can do the winter as well, as locally adapted.

My frustration is most of the breading is in the south, and not necessary transportable.
hopefully the process once firmed up can be done on bees in the north

GG


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Gray Goose said:


> if we "presume" the virus load is linked to winter survival, and this non local bee can do the winter as well, as locally adapted.
> 
> My frustration is most of the breading is in the south, and not necessary transportable.
> hopefully the process once firmed up can be done on bees in the north
> ...


Perhaps the location of the breeding operation would not make much difference in outcome; The length of season and availbility of early drones likely drives the comparative economics, N vs S.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Litsinger said:


> While I think their findings are intuitive, it is good to see the scholarship to back it up. Namely, that viral load in-and-of-itself is not a good predictor of colony survival:


I believe the inefficiency of the "viral load" signal is due to the "noise" of the that metric. The load values are log-transformed exponents and show real "smear" in the range of results (and a lot of ex post facto editing of the data set to reduce the standard deviation of the parameter. The load is calculated by pooling 65 bees, centrifuging them, and looking at the extracted liquid (in various dilutions). 

There is no good basis for the assumption that a viral load of 4 (ie log 10 ^4 or 10,000) is less lethal in a linear fashion than a viral load of 6 (ie log 10 ^6, or 1,000,000 particles). The lethality is likely driven by how many of the source 65 bees making up the sample were carrying a threshold load of virus. 

Varroa as the vector is a proxy for what proportion of the source sample were infected. The total load calculation would not discriminate between 5 out of 65 bees with really high infection, versus 64 out of 65 carrying a harmful (but less numerous) number of virus particles, as would happen in a epidemic infection of the entire colony.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

JWChesnut said:


> I believe the inefficiency of the "viral load" signal is due to the "noise" of the that metric.


You might be right, JW.

I wonder if when conducting whole bee assays we are missing out on the opportunity to discretize between virus levels occurring in the bee gut and mite-vectored viruses that prove pathogenic:



Litsinger said:


> Research is discussed (and linked below) that suggests that mite-vectored DWV-B is the only strain of the virus that leads to clinical symptoms, as isolated in the brain of the infected bee. Further, it is suggested that the question ultimately is not what the mite load is in a colony per se, but how many mites within this cohort are vectors for DWV-B.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

crofter said:


> Perhaps the location of the breeding operation would not make much difference in outcome; The length of season and availbility of early drones likely drives the comparative economics, N vs S.


I will be try this exact thing this year.
bringing some bees that seem to have a grasp on tolerating mites a few hundred miles north.
I will know in the spring the "winter" effect and what it means.

GG


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

If a bee line was mite tolerant but had some habits that lessened its cold wintering abilities, such as heavy brooding late / large clusters etc., I think there may be workarounds for that. I have only dinked with that aspect a bit because the bees I usually have are heavy to Carni traits, but I think rate of feeding can regulate or shut down brooding. Getting going too early can be another issue but I have no experience with that. If the bee naturally trended to better disease and pest tolerance I think we could find ways of tolerating its other deficits.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

In the companion _Science_ article that was posted on Bee-L today, I thought that Dr. Delaplane's perspective was interesting:

_'The study also contained another surprise. The team analyzed the levels of four key viruses spread by mites, including deformed wing virus. In most cases, virus levels didn’t significantly affect the odds of colony survival for either the regular or Pol-line bees. That unexpected result suggests the mite is more harmful than the viruses it helps spread, says University of Georgia honey bee expert Keith Delaplane. “This is important to know … we’ve all been fixated on viruses for an awful long time now.” The good news, he adds, is that although there are no treatments for bee viruses, beekeepers have several proven ways to control the varroa mite.'_

Kind of echoes Alison McAfee's observation that:



Litsinger said:


> "It does make complete sense for VSH stock to have lower viral loads in general ... the best tool to fight viruses is to fight varroa."


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## bricknerdn (Dec 5, 2020)

And while they spent untold $ on these trials, over the last 5 years I have had zero colony losses due to mites or viruses by using extended release oxalic acid applications, developed by Randy Oliver who did it without any of our tax dollars.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Recent Beekeeping Today podcast interview with Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom and Dr. Frank Rinkevich- research entomologists at the Baton Rouge Honey Bee Research Laboratory in Baton Rouge, LA. Starts at approximately the 18:35 mark:






IMHO the best section of the interview is the 49:00 - 55:00 mark- a need to establish consistent standard for selection. And the distinction between Low Mite Population Growth and Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (an important one).


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