Jacques van Alphen Selection for Varroa resistant honeybees: the role of natural selection

Jacques van Alphen is emeritus professor of animal ecology. He has published widely on behaviour and life history evolution of parasitic wasps, their application in biological pest control, on speciation in tropical fish and amphibians. He also published on honey bee behaviour and on natural and artificial selection for Varroa resistance in honey bees and is author of the book Honingbijen (Honeybees): Brooklyn Publishing 2022). He keeps black bees in the North of France.

In this lecture he reviews the evidence for natural selection in Apis mellifera becoming tolerant or resistant to Varroa mites and discuss traits implicated in Varroa resistance. He provides evidence that honey bees are an extremely outbreeding species and how this is important for how natural selection operates. Evidence comes from South Africa and from Africanized honey bees in South America. There, colonies survived without treatment, showing that natural selection can result in resistance and survival of the initial Varroa invasion.
Understanding why natural selection in Europe and North America has not resulted in large scale resistance can be used to increase the level of resistance to a threshold level in panmictic populations at which natural selection can be expected to take over.

[MAQ]

Excellent summary. Very interesting on the humidity. Would it mean that screened bottom boards make a disfavor you the bees?

[honeybeesforsale]

Interesting talk - I must improve on insulation. Be good to know more on hives designed for treatment free.

[neilbush]

I am encouraged because many areas🎉 of bush in Australia have many wild colonies per square mile but to add to that an island is used for bee breeding each year in western australia.

[MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Honey bees, not "honeybees". But interesting talk.