>
> >Wouldn’t a simple plan of selecting from your best performers,
> automatically be selecting colonies that cope best with the ‘environmental
> factors’ as defined by Phillips 1918,  which include mites as such.  In
> other words, let the colonies dictate which traits are essential for them to
> cope with the environmental factors


I heartily agree with you, Joe!  This didn't work well when varroa first
arrived, since there was so little innate resistance in the population, plus
the domino effect of collapsing colonies overwhelming the resistant colonies
with mites.

However, the situation is now different, since mite resistance alleles are
now much more widespread in the bee population.

With regard to your observation on regional differences, I can tell you that
it is currently difficult for me to run a successful California commercial
operation with zero treatments.  It is easy to do so with a few "natural"
treatments.  My goal is to dispense with even those, but I couldn't keep
taking the financial hit, so I'm slowly weaning them off as the genetics
improve.

Randy Oliver

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned 
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html