on super quiet mornings when just the crickets are chirping in late summer, sometimes I hear singular frantic little buzzes in the yards and it makes me sad because I know it's the sound of bees born with DWV (Deformed Wing Virus) that have shriveled wings due to varroosis. Basically these shriveled wing bees are offing themselves for the sake of their colony by walking away permanently. Had one gal like this crawl up to me this morning. Mid-season formic treatment has really helped reduce this phenomenon but the number of DW bees walking away from any hive at peak varroa load is yet another potential indicator of #varroa resistance ... or not. #Varroadestructor #v #bees #beekeeping #deformedwingvirus #DWF #poorgal (at Millvale, Pennsylvania)
