We are talking Varroa mites, right? In that case, it's not a matter of immunity, more like a parasite. Its a mite, a bug, not a virus. However,
Essentially, left untreated in a honey bee colony, they will kill it. All feral and untreated bee colonies will eventually die.
From my understanding Varroa originated with the Asian honey bee, and it was the cross breeding with European honey bees that lead to the spread around the world. I can see where the idea of "immunity" could have come from, with...
Varroa have evolved with Apis cerana (Asian honey bees). The impact of Varroa on Asian honey bees is not lethal. The varroa mites normally breed on Asian honey bee drone brood with minimal impact on the Asian honey bee colony
As for a hybrid breed that could share this "immunity", I am afraid that is not the case, as there are many types of Varroa, which unfortunately target the varying species of bees.
Varroa mites include a group of species, including V. destructor, V. jacobsoni, V. underwoodi, V. rindereri and un-named species.
Dr Denis Anderson (CSIRO, Canberra) in a 2000 publication, stated that some varroa were reproducing on honey bees, while other varroa were not. He was able to identify specific varroa that could breed on honey bees and these were named by him as V. destructor. This cross-species infestation of V. destructor on honey bees probably started around 50 years ago. This mite is now widespread throughout Europe, North America and New Zealand. V. jacobsoni is a mite infesting Asian bees throughout Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
The quotes above were provided by the Australian Department of Primary Industries.
https://www.dpi.nsw....arroa-mites.pdf
Another excellent resource,
http://beeaware.org....tes/#ad-image-0
As per your observation about being hesitant on chemicals, especially those by Bayer Monsanto (
), I support you whole heartily. From my understanding I was lead to believe that it was the fungicides (not pesticides) that lead to colony collapse. Can we draw a link between the before posted interactions between bees and mushrooms in fighting Varroa, and the increased use of fungicides when dusting crops that are then pollinated by bees? I think so.
There is also the likelihood of the chemicals used for such purposes leaving residues of one form or another in the beeswax and honey.
- DPI
https://permaculture..._eid=bafc86f8ec
How can you get "organic" honey anyway? Do you tie little leashes onto your bees to stop em pollinating non organic plants?
The only way would be to have them in a green house setup, where their area of business (read bees-knees) can be controlled. How big a green house would you need if bees cover many kilometers from the hive?
EDIT: The video is great. Is that the Don, the fat bee man? I love how he hands the fogger to the woman, who gets it going in one click!
But I reckon a fogging treatment of a natural product like the one he uses is the way to go.
Edited by Spliff, 15 October 2017 - 05:15 AM.