> Since varroa showed up certainly the life of a hive and queen is somewhat limited (I am guessing from what I have read at or about two years).  

Thanks for joining in the conversation. A while back, I tried to get info from members on this. The general impression is that European bees plus varroa equals a colony lifespan of at most three years. Presumably this can be extended by mite treatment; otherwise, why bother. 

There is also evidence of Africanized colonies living longer than this and not succumbing to varroa mites. But so far, nobody has produced a data set to determine the reality behind these impressions. Same thing, we can't simply accept anecdotal evidence, some numbers are crucial

PLB

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