Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Discovery of Bee Virus May Help Unravel Colony Collapse Disorder Mystery

Bee Researchers Unveil Tool to Chase Colony Collapse Disorder
The University of Montana (USA), 8/29/2008

University of Montana researchers and their UM-affiliated company, Bee Alert Technology Inc., have employed a powerful new tool created by a U.S. Army lab to discover a honeybee virus invading North America.

The new virus does not cause Colony Collapse Disorder – a mysterious malady depopulating beehives around the globe – but the method used to find the virus may help scientists unravel the CCD mystery in the future.

The invading bee virus is called Varroa destructor virus-1. First definitively identified in Europe in 2006, VDV-1 is carried by both honeybees and the tiny varroa mites that afflict them…

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