One of my hives became a laying worker hive. I took the boxes with frames away from my hives and dumped the bees out. Many of the drones had Deformed Winged Virus. Examined some of them, and could not find any mites. I took the frames with drone brood to my house with the intention of freezing them. Before freezing, a few drones emerged. Everyone had DWV and no mites. I could not find mites on the drone larva that I examined.
Can bees get DWV without being bit by a mite?
If I give these frames with drone brood to a healthy hive after freezing, can the bees get the disease from biting into the drone brood when removing it?
Can the virus remain in the cell and contaminate new brood?
I did not do an official mite count. There were a few mites on the tray under the hive.
Thank you for your help.
Can bees get DWV without being bit by a mite?
If I give these frames with drone brood to a healthy hive after freezing, can the bees get the disease from biting into the drone brood when removing it?
Can the virus remain in the cell and contaminate new brood?
I did not do an official mite count. There were a few mites on the tray under the hive.
Thank you for your help.