Robert Buntine wrote:
>Are all ferals doomed?
>Are pollination services in greater demand?

The answer to this depends on the *actual* contribution of wild and feral
pollinators. If you are a proponent of wild bees, it is great. If you are a
beekeeper, it is small. Just the facts, please!

The question of long term survival of feral hives is vexing. Even before
varroa, I questioned how long a colony would persist in a particular location. 

You hear people say "that tree has had bees in it for 20 years" or some
such. But they don't really know if it is the same colony or if it
periodically dies out and gets repopulated.

So, even if feral bees die out more quickly due to varroa, you will still
have swarms issuing from managed hives and repopulating the sites previously
occupied, since swarms are attracted to these nest sites.

However! There is ample evidence that feral populations begin to resurge
after the initial wipe-out. Whether this is due to the development of
resistant traits, or the evolution of host/guest equilibrium, I don't know.

pb

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