Hi Bob & All,

> We have got a bee which will tolerate varroa. The bee was found by putting
> varroa pressure on the bees. Not even the bee lab applys varroa pressure.
>

This reminds me of how I am looking for superior wintering genetic up here. I am putting winter pressure on the colonies I keep by
not wrapping them, while other who try to keep bees through winter up here wrap theirs. I only know one other beekeeper up here who
does not wrap for winter. Only a few of us are breeding bees and I am thinking putting this winter pressure on the bees will enhance
and speed up my success. I could be wrong but I am giving it what I think is my best shot.

> One of the best commercial lines in the U.S. was tested this year by
> applying varroa pressure. Only one hive was still alive out of  38 in
> August.
>

Am I safe in assuming that this one colony might be a good candidate for breeding then for varroa tolerance, I would really think
so.

> I agree with Dee. The fact they are alive untreated trumps the research. I
> am now interested in how much varroa pressure they can tolerate .
>

This would be interesting but if what she and Ed are doing is successful why really should they waste commercial time to find this
out. Besides, doing that would go against a key element in the small cell beekeeping method they have developed of culling any combs
with more than ten percent drone cells. They have a method that works for them and as commercial beekeepers working to make a profit
it simply would be foolish to change a method of keeping bees clean while making surplus honey.

> As I said before you can not argue wuth the Lusby's success  and although
> Dee has an idea the reason for the success it is hard to say if success came
> from small cell, breeding or another undiscovered reason. Without testing I
> could only guess .
>

As you well know, Dee does not put all success onto just one reason but with a whole bee program of keeping them. Cell size,
Nutrition, and BREEDING. Dee made a post on Organicbeekeepers in response to the message thread you are responding to here on Bee-L
to Jim. Their achieves are public and anyone can read them. Dee explains on a post to Jim addressing this issue, I am satisfied that
she gave it her best shot to the USDA in proving Her & Ed's methods. Read for your self her response for she can put it to you
better than I what she wrote.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/message/12862
Researchers will continue to be guessing in studying small cells or Their small cell methods because they piece mill the research
instead of using a whole bee keeping program. One part of the method without the rest will not give the whole answer or the truth.

> I agree! many beekeepers in the U.S. are being dealt fits this fall from
> varroa. I hear almost every day of beekeepers losing hives to varroa.  I am
> proud to say I (like Dee)   am not having varroa problems this year! was not
> always so!
>

Ah yes, but the question now is, How many seasons have you been not having varroa problems? Dee & Ed, you know, are now going on
without varroa problems going on nearly a decade. How much proof do they need to prove their simple methods? Many successful people
goes with what works and then continues to copy it.

 . ..   Keith Malone, Chugiak, Alaska USA, http://www.cer.org/,
c(((([ , Apiarian, http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney/,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApiarianBreedersGuild/

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