Hello All

Thanks to Allen Dick for his reply.

I have no problem with using the correct tools in fighting varroa, or any
other pest, but when my sword bends in my hands what can I do?.

The problem is that the tools we are using to fight varroa are making the
enemy invulnerable. It seems to me to be a case of, 'we are damned if we
treat and damned if we don't'.  So can anybody tell me what do we do next?.
Or is there nothing we can do but wait for a 'silver bullet', and hope that
it arrives whilst there are still bees to treat.

I, in common with Irish beekeepers, am presently awaiting the first strike
of varroa in my apiaries. I daresay that beekeepers in Australia, New
Zealand and Hawaii are doing the same thing. I am using the approved
chemical to detect the appearance of the pest. But if I am fighting a
resistant pest, as is now rapidly appearing to be the case, then the battle
is lost before it starts.

It is not in my nature to sound so negative, but I feel so strongly about
bees, that my fears for their survival lead me to abandon the softly softly
approach and come straight out with what I believe to be the case. I feel
that the fine line between being negative and realistic is often difficult
to define.

But I am ever hopeful, although now it would seem that nothing short of a
miracle will do.

Sincerely

Tom Barrett
49 South Park, Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940