allen dick wrote:

> The first step, however, is to find tolerant bees, learn what genes, if any,
> are associated with observed tolerance, then find out if they exist in the
> desirable strains of bees we currently use.

Or learn more about the mite. I know you did not say so, and I guess you
would agree, that it is not an either/or situation.

One of the best ways with dealing with pests is to find their weakness
and exploit it. That is done all the time in medicine. And, in medicine,
  genetic identification is also going on. I wonder why we continually
try to change the bee and not the mite.

That may end up being what eventually happens, since usually when the
pest kills the host (the kind of relationship that exists with Varroa)
there are changes or both die out. I realize that we beekeepers have
altered that equation, but research into the mite will help.

So send some Apistan resistant varroa.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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