===
"BTW, we're not hearing much bragging from the no treatment guys lately. How's
that working out?"
===
Hi Allen,
I wont brag, -but I will describe the conditions
which exit in my area.
Varroa has not been a problem here for several
years. I do not know the reason for this, but it
has been accompanied by a very strong rebound in
the feral population. Also hearing that all beekeepers
in my area are reporting little to no mite pressure for
several years now, as well as good surpluses.
I cant give credit to any special bee breed, or
management practice for the success, they all
are doing well across the board, in this area.
The beekeepers I know have simply quit treating,
as it it not needed.
I can only hope that beekeepers in my area
will once again choose the most productive bee
as a priority when buying queens, -and resistance
pegged further down the list, -IMO, this will benefit
the breed I prefer, and also my breeding goals if they
do this. Too many exotic strains are messing up
breeding, but I have noticed a good improvement
in uniform subcasts, and a dominance of the
strain I prefer in my area, which is good.
In my yards colonies are not as strong as I would
like, but I believe this is in large part due to my focus
away from tending the hives and towards bee removals
which are consuming a great deal of my time.
Next season will be trying some commercial queens
along side my colonies so I can establish a yard
which I can use for comparing, and also to test
my theory that any bee brought into this area
will do well without treatments. If you can refer
me to a yellow bee breeder that is a good producer
please pass the info to me. I dont care if they are
resistant or not.
I believe the ferals once again dominate the
population of bees in this area and may provide
a balanced array of traits on the survival side, while
perhaps an integration of commercial queens may
help boost traits on the productivity side, -it will be
interesting to see what happens next season.
Location:
South West Pennsylvania
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/
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