As we have said, there is often a trade off between traits. Where productivity is increased, health may be negatively affected. Where vigor is increased, productivity may fall. If no-maintenance bees could be obtained, but at a cost of loss of production, then one would have to compensate by keeping more hives, thus increasing labor and costs. Just such a trade off was observed in natural populations that survived untreated. The colonies were viable but significantly smaller than average.

Our results clearly demonstrate a significant
reduction in the reproductive success of Varroa
mites (measured as the ability to produce at least
one viable offspring) in a European population of
A. mellifera colonies where no mite control was
practiced for more than 10 years.

The amounts of adult bees, worker brood and
drone brood were significantly lower in the
surviving colonies compared with the control
colonies. Hence, reduced colony size
may be an adaptive characteristic of the surviving
colonies to limit the mite population growth
rate.

Characteristics of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera)
in Sweden surviving Varroa destructor infestation
Barbara LOCKE, Ingemar FRIES
Apidologie (2011) 42:533–542

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