REGARDING L M Walker's letter (Leave Honey Alone, News Shopper, July 19).
A honeybee egg is covered with wax mixed with pollen to ensure the pupae can breath.
Just before the cell is sealed, a female varroa mite slips into the cell and begins to feed on the larvae and produce offspring.
The loss of young bees and the fact some mites live off the insect usually results in complete colony loss within three years.
In Asia, from where the mite originates, the Apis cerana breeding pattern is different.
Workers develop quickly, so only drone are affected, which does not destroy the colony.
W S MUNDY
Dartford Beekeepers
willmumby8@tiscali.co.uk
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