Peter Borst wrote:

> . I am
> telling you, some of the best minds in the country are at work on
> beekeeper's problems. I suppose some may be interested in prestige,
> but I believe most of them are doing it because they love bees and
> care about them, and their keepers.
>
>  Peter and All,

  Beekeepers do observations very well. (At least good ones ) Science is
a different matter. I know some researchers and  I can tell you, they
love bees and are drawn to learning more about them and there behavior.
Research is complicated and needs control methods . Some answers bring
up more questions.
It very seldom is just black and white as we would like to see it,  for
our little minds.
 Peter has been working on screen boards . I have all of my hives on
screens. He is doing science and I'm doing beekeeping.  I could not tell
you if the serene boards have kept varroa down in all of my hives. It
has other factors that are all working together. Russian queens ( with
hygienic behavior )  All Russian queens are not equal. I found two mites
in drone brood this year. I have found some ( 50 plus ) on my bottom
boards in each hive. No mites on the bees and NO chemicals. This is not
science. I requeened  140 % this year. This is not normal. The only
thing I'm sure of is hygienic behavior in all of my hives. Now comes
winter and another test for my bees. They look great now. We will see if
all the queens shut down some in winter.
 Beekeepers should be thankful for what work is being done that can help
us. Nature is very complex. We get little bits here and there and thetas
about it for our minds. Use what we have to the fullest . Its the only
game in town.
Best Regards
Roy

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