Ernie Gregoire wrote:
> If we all allowed only one of our colonies to swarm, the feral colony
> count would go up and eventually benefit the beekeeper as in the
> past.
 
A few thoughts: I have not missed Apistan tratements both spring and
fall since 1996.  I could not claim that ANY of my hives are "survivors"
due to beekeeper intervention.
 
Furthermore, feral colonies may not be the benefit Ernie envisions.
Some have speculated that feral hives are the pockets of survival for
varroa, causing post-treatment reinfestation of kept hives.  One cannot
assume that a feral hive not able to stand up to varroa will die
instantly.  It may take up to two years for a feral hive to finally
collapse from varroa infestation, all the while serving as a breeding
ground for mites which can infest nearby colonies.
 
I highly doubt that the silver bullet we are hoping breeders to produce
will come from a serendipitous discovery of a super swarm.  Natural
selection is a slow and sometimes painful process.  I do believe that
the ultimate solution to the varroa problem will come from breeders, but
it won't happen by accident.
 
In the meantime I'll try to keep my bees at home and use my swarms for
replacements and increase.
 
Aaron Morris - thinking a swarm in hand is worth two in the woods!