Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) and Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) are two of the most consequential honeybee viruses — and neither can be treated directly with a medicine the way a bacterial infection can. Management is entirely indirect: it works by changing the conditions that let the virus spread, not by attacking the virus itself.
DWV is amplified and injected straight into bee haemolymph by Varroa destructor mites, so its management is really Varroa management — fewer mites means fewer transmission events and fewer visibly crippled bees. CBPV instead spreads bee-to-bee through contact and secretions, and outbreaks are strongly linked to overcrowding — congested entrances, confined colonies, and high forager traffic.
Because DWV and CBPV cannot be cured once a bee is infected, beekeeping guidance for both diseases converges on the same indirect toolkit: monitor and treat Varroa, keep colonies strong and well-spaced, requeen with hygienic or resistant stock, and avoid stress factors like overcrowding or poor ventilation that let either virus take hold.
A 3D honeybee colony where two real viral diseases spread through the population by two different routes — DWV riding on Varroa mites, CBPV passing bee-to-bee through crowded contact — while you test the indirect management levers beekeepers actually have.
Neither virus can be treated directly once a bee is infected. DWV transmission tracks the Varroa mite load; CBPV transmission tracks colony crowding. Hygienic behaviour removes existing cases but never targets the virus itself — it changes the conditions the virus depends on.
Pick a disease model, then adjust Varroa mite load, hygienic behaviour and colony density. Watch red mite dots, shrunken DWV wings, and trembling CBPV bees respond live, and track the healthy/infected/removed counts in the panel.
Because DWV and CBPV have no cure, real beekeeping guidance for both converges on the same toolkit: monitor and treat Varroa, keep colonies strong and well-ventilated, and requeen with hygienic stock.