>Worthwhile? Yes, for many reasons. One, mite control is expensive. Two,
>chemical free beekeeping is more satisfying and more fun. Three, if you
>succeed you will have a very interesting story to tell.

Possible comb contamination, handler concerns from chemicals and possible
honey contamination could be added to the list.

Few in the U.S. are equipped to do a proper search for a varroa tolerant bee
other than the "live and let die" method which could produce such a bee but
you would have no idea why you were successful.

Open matting has many problems.

As a beekeeper which has been trained in instrumental insemination ( II) I
see  only the use of II and proper records as the way to ending up with a
line of bees truly varroa tolerant.

The Baton Rouge Bee lab has been careful to say they have isolated traits
(inbreeding mostly)and these traits can be introduced into your bees with
use of their queens ( SMR, VSH & hygienic).

The lab does not claim to have produced a line of bees similar to the
Russian bee line imported and kept pure.

The Russian line is varroa tolerant *if* kept pure and away from hives with
high varroa loads. (personal experience)

Chemical free is not a new idea. Back at the start many beekeepers chose to
simply let varroa kill off the susceptible and breed from survivors.
Bankrupted many as almost all their hives died and the survivors failed to
raise varroa tolerant bees.

The spread and efforts to battle varroa are well documented on the internet
and in beekeeping books.

The best beekeeping minds when varroa arrived said the industry would
produce a bee through research which would solve the varroa problem within
20 years. Did not happen .

Research needs to go on to try and find the bee but right now it seems
varroa in contact with bees over decades with susceptible dying off will
produce a bee similar to the Russian bee in the U.S. but a slow process as
using treatments for varroa protects susceptible bees.

Two events have improved the hunt for a varroa tolerant bee in the
U.S.(other than breeding) . The import of the Russian line which have had
varroa issues the longest in nature and the arrival of AHB from Brazil.

bob

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