dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a parasi

[AmericasBeekeeper]

I am curious. How do you check for mites? ether, alcohol or sugar shake?

[Gypsi]

Sugar shake and pulling drone brood. SBB's when I have time to clean the sticky board. But the inspector and I went through 5 hives and pulled every drone brood larva and found ONE mite. I think one turned up in the sugar shake. My population is isolated, and I had an accidental brood break of about 3 weeks on the cutout hive before my nucs came, had about 5 weeks brood break on the hot hive after I killed the queen and before they requeened. My nucs were vsh bees. They've done well, bought 2, have basically 4 hives of them now. (one is at my neighbor's)

[FlowerPlanter]

Hopefully they can keep their genes from infecting the rest of the bee population. Until we really know what else it does.

And if it really works we can all buy our bees from monsanto for 5X the price.

[JRG13]

Flower, it's a topical treatment or in this case, it was fed to the bees, has nothing to do with genetic modification of the bee. There is no gene expression either, the rna does not replicate.

[FlowerPlanter]

That's good

[Spark]

Yes this is real good...Monsanto applying for a patent...We'll see how much bees cost when your queen mates with a drone with this newly acquired Monsanto DNA and your making splits and nucs for sale. Hope you have deep pockets. For all those hoping for a godsend this is not it. You will have to pay Monsanto to raise bees and if not pay heavy fines..can you control your drone yard? Good luck!

[JRG13]

Spark, has nothing to do with genetically altered bees or patenting bees. The patent is for the sequence(s) of dsRNA's used which target mite genes, nothing to do with bees. The bees were just a vector of the dsRNA.

[Ian]

JRG13, probably should say it again.
Im wondering if it has sunk in yet,

As soon as the word Monsanto is mentioned, the same old opinions creep up.

I love the development that are being made here. Finally RnD money spent on the bee industry ! THATS A GOOD THING

[Spark]

I don't see it quite so easy as you do Ian. If you believe that Monsanto is going develop this product and give it away for free well...erm ah ... anyways hope they do.

JRG the primer is the bee it would be the easiest source to use to infect the mite with.

[Ian]

It has to be commercially available for any profits to be made on it. It has to be economically feasible for a commercial out fit otherwise it will not be bought.
If you would like to compare it to other types of poducts they sell,
those products were developed and brought to the market. Economics dictated the price point and the quality of the product dictated the popularity of its use

[Spark]

Ian I know all about making money, I am a business owner, but thanks for the insight into how money is made. I will also base my judgement of Monsanto on it's business practices aside from their making money schemes to determine where their heart really is.

We can agree on how to make money but never on business practices that border on criminal. Anyone for some E. Coli DNA spliced salad?

[Ian]

I use their product. It has advanced our ability to grow food. It has made me money hand over fist. It has allowed us to practice more sustainable farming practices. It has allowed us to minimize out tillage, saving fuel, saving the soil structure, and it has cut our pesticide bill in half, it has also cut our pesticide usage by 1/3.
Bad bad Monsanto

With a little RnD now being focused on the honeybee industry, we may just see some of the same advances as we have elsewhere in agriculture in relation to disease control. RnD is what the industry has been screaming for over 10 years now.

[jim lyon]

Most folks opposed to modern farming practices and products have never been exposed to the farming practices which were common back in the 50's and 60's. The norm back then was disk, plow, disk, plant, rotary hoe, and cultivate as many as three times. Chemicals back then? Oh yeah, lots of them and usually broad spectrum pesticides that fried everything out there. Lots and lots of herbicide that washed down out of the fields when the inevitable erosion occurred from the tillage practices. The amount of fuel used per acre was incredible but in those days ag fuel was probably around .10 per gallon. Today we usually see a single no till planting pass and a couple of passes with large spraying equipment. Residue from the previous crop are allowed (in most cases) to rot into the soil. The ground is disturbed very little. Newer hybrid seed has increased yields dramatically. Argue all you want about the ethics of big business but don't deny that without the technological advances in agriculture there is no way we could produce the food needed to feed 7 billion people.

[Ian]

the advances over the last 50-100 years are quite amazing.

you should see how we worked GSP into equipment

[Ian]

the advances over the last 50-100 years are quite amazing.

you should see how we worked GSP into equipment

[rniles]

I use their product. It has advanced our ability to grow food. It has made me money hand over fist. It has allowed us to practice more sustainable farming practices. It has allowed us to minimize out tillage, saving fuel, saving the soil structure, and it has cut our pesticide bill in half, it has also cut our pesticide usage by 1/3.
Bad bad Monsanto

OK, some people have a beef with that - I don't

...the complaint I have - and a lot of others have, is when other people are trying to grow something different and Big Ag's pollen gets on other people's crops and other people have to shut down or get assimilated because their crops now have Big Ag's genes.

That's a hostile act by the Big Ag companies - and it is wrong. Big Ag took away someone else's rights just to protect their money.

Improve things ...no problem ...but don't stomp on what others want to do or want to grow.

[Ian]

but you want to take away my rights to use Big Ags crops on my land to protect your interests? Dont forget the rights of the land owners. Beekeepers dont own the rights to the use of others land. Beekeepers earn the privilege to collect the bounty from others land.

[rniles]

but you want to take away my rights to use Big Ags crops on my land to protect your interests? Dont forget the rights of the land owners. Beekeepers dont own the rights to the use of others land. Beekeepers earn the privilege to collect the bounty from others land.

Keep your pollen within your property boundaries and off other people's crops and we'll be in agreement. You don't own the right to force others to grow your crops or to force them out of business.

[Spark]

Ian if you feel that big AG's GMO crops are for you great but, you need to keep your open pollinated crops from transferring that DNA to others properties.

As far as the beekeepers earning any privilege ... well, erm ... just WOW what can I say, your a beekeeper right?

[nada]

beekeepers bees going on your property is a right, not a privelage. otherwise it would be an incredible abuse of the concept of property rights. you might as well say someone else looking at your property is a privelage, not a right