> I am starting my third year.  I know a guy that did good not treating for
> seven years and had built up to 60 hives and lost them all in one year.  I
> don't know what the future is for me.  I have heard many that lost nothing
> for two years and then lost 30 percent regular.
>

This is what I usually see with NT beekeepers in my area. It seems to be a
few years before something happens and then major losses.

The 30% losses is an interesting number. If you split to get back to your
original number, that means you have to split 1/2 of the survivor hives. So
you are automatically treating for mites by manipulation. Which also means
that you will probably suffer 30% losses every year with this sort of
management and be able to call yourself treatment free.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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