I respectfully disagree.

Monsanto was the first to commit resources and $$$$$ to find a non GMO and non chemical solution for the Varroa Destructor mite.   What other company had done so?  The answer is none other than the start up company (Beelogics) which Monsanto acquired in order to do so.   Since then Vita in Europe is also reportedly taking the same or similar approach as Monsanto.

Yes, I know the application sitting before the bureaucracy of an agency run amok (EPA) is for root worm control and not varroa destructor mite control, but you need to start somewhere.

Until such a solution is available to bee keepers, we are left with using chemicals (preferably a rotation of all the legal treatments available) trying to kill the parasitic bug on the bug without killing the bug the parasitic bug is attached to. 

I and a lot of other bee keepers are willing to give Monsanto the benefit of the doubt and a chance for them to bring their proposed solution to fruition.   I believe they know they have one time to do so and I believe they brought on board the right person to ensure they do so (Jerry Hayes).

If they betray the bee keepers...   Katie... bar the door.

The other key is nutrition which a lot of bee "keepers" go ...huh...??... because they see the bees bringing in pollen...  Of course those bee "keepers" have never looked at  www.scientificbeekeeping.com or joined the BEE-L or read the posts when they come through.  They are also the same people who have never subscribed to any of the bee keeping magazines or journals and function on only what they hear others say.   They fall into the category of bee havers instead of bee keepers.  Eventually, with a good mentor, they may make the transition from a bee haver to a bee keeper.

The really good bee keepers are the ones who constantly strive to learn more and realize the more they learn, the more they still need to learn.  These are the ones who read the journals/magazines, subscribe to the Bee-L forum and try to ferret the wheat from the chaff.  

The bee havers -  I do not think they really know why they have bees in the first place or they got into bee keeping for the wrong reason.

             ***********************************************
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