Subject: Verroa and vestigial wings on workers

From: "K.J.M.Hooker" <[email-masked]>
Date: 22 May 1995 19:31:38 +0100

During a conversation with a fellow beekeeper at the weekend the 
subject of the incidence of verroa and vestigial wings on workers came 
up.  This person reckoned that 20% of the workers in some hives are 
affected.  

I checked one of my hives in the garden and only found one or two
verroa but several dozen young workers with vestigial wings.  There 
were no drones present at any stage.

Some years ago I came across drones with a similar problem and it 
was put down to a genetic defect.

My colleague says that it is caused by a virus carried by verroa 
mites.

Is this new problem the old one re-defined?   How wide spread is it? 
What can be done to cure, control or kill it?

Comments please...

Keith JM Hooker BA MIPD
Whitstable, Kent, UK, EC (just)

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 14:53:00 GMT

<>My colleague says that it is caused by a virus carried by verroa
<>mites.

 Yes, it is a virus, and a bad one at that. And yes that virus can be
found in the blood of varroa, but since varroa feed on bee's and in
the US most all bee's have the virus it is really a stretch to say
the virus is carried by the varroa. Bee's have had the symptoms of
this virus for as long as I can remember before they had any varroa.

                      ttul Andy-