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<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>Thanks to Christina Scheltema for forwarding the below article:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'>http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67O4SN20100825?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews&rpc=76<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><font size=6
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>UK</span></font></b></st1:place></st1:country-region>
bee industry abuzz with mite resistant breed<o:p></o:p></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Wed, Aug 25 2010<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>By <a
href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=stefano.ambrogi&">Stefano
Ambrogi</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>LONDON
(Reuters) - A British beekeeper said on Wednesday he may have discovered a
strain of honey bee immune to a parasite that has been gradually wiping out
populations of the vital insect worldwide.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Scientists
have been trying to find a way to fight the pesticide-resistant Varroa mite.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But now a
retired heating engineer who has spent 18 years searching for a mite-resistant
breed may have made a breakthrough.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ron
Hoskins, 79, from Swindon in southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>, says he has managed to
isolate and breed a strain of bees which "groom" one another,
removing the mites.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Since
making his discovery, which he said happened by chance, he has been
artificially inseminating queen bees in the hope they will establish
themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"The
Varroa mite has been causing havoc with colonies in countries all over the
world, apart from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
It has spread at an alarming rate and is very destructive," Hoskins told
Reuters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"If
this problem is left unchecked it could be a disaster for the food chain
waiting to happen," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>He said
recent research had found that more than two thirds of all <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
honeybees have been lost to the parasite. He is now looking for funding to
further his research and has had an invitation from Australian officials and
counterparts eager to keep the parasite at bay.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Bees,
like other insects and birds, are crucial for pollinating crops and plant
species which, just as importantly, absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>HABITAT
LOSS<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>ADAS, a
British environmental consultancy, says bees are responsible for pollinating
British crops worth up to 200 million pounds ($308.4 million) a year. Apples,
pears, plums and raspberries are all heavily reliant on their deftness.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Globally,
the value to agricultural markets is estimated to be up to 130 billion pounds,
experts say.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But the
humble worker bee population has come under enormous strain from habitat loss,
bad weather and disease in the last few decades.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> alone,
known colonies were found to have been cut by half between 1985 and 2005,
according to the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Varroa mite has been one of the prime culprits for the bee's demise. Arriving
from the Far East the parasite wormed its way through colonies in Europe,
before becoming endemic in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>
in 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The BBKA
said Hoskins' work was a potentially exciting discovery, though cautioned that
it was still early days.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Ron
is a very experienced beekeeper. His research is small scale, but it is
promising," a spokeswoman said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Any
research like this is welcome, remembering that one in three mouthfuls of what
everybody eats is down to bee pollinations."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>(Editing
by <a
href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=ralph.boulton&">Ralph
Boulton</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 color=black face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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