| Summary: | We present a simple mathematical model of the infestation of a honeybee colony by the Acute Paralysis Virus, which is carried by parasitic varroa mites (Varroa destructor). This is a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the dependent variables: number of mites that carry the virus, number of healthy bees and number of sick bees. We study this model with a mix of analytical and computational techniques. Our results indicate that, depending on model parameters and initial data, bee colonies in which the virus is present can, over years, function seemingly like healthy colonies before they decline and disappear rapidly (e.g. Colony Collapse Disorder, wintering losses). This is a consequence of the fact that a certain number of worker bees is required in a colony to maintain and care for the brood, in order to ensure continued production of new bees.
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