Dean writes:
> you seem to have implied that you would still be giving lectures on "chemical free beekeeping" if you could have made it work yourself. 

I don't know what I "seem to have implied". Fact is, the reason I stopped advocating "keeping bees without chemicals" was because most of the folks around here that tried it lost their bees. Basically, around here, "treatment free" beekeeping means restocking every year. A lot of that comes from catching other folks' swarms. I bought bees last year and gave all the honey away so I lost money. But I love having bees so it doesn't matter. 

I have several objections to the "let them die" approach. And this is not "aimed" at Dean or anyone else. I prefer not to get personal. It's supposed to be about bees, not people. First, if the aim is to breed better bees, that isn't the way to do it. If I have ten hives with varroa and one survives, the idea is that breeding from that queen's offspring will produce varroa resistant bees. And that the other ones didn't have the "right stuff".

Were it that simple, we would have sorted this out years ago. I believe in stock improvement but I think it has to been done on a much larger scale than any of us are capable of, like what the Weavers have done. They claim to have treatment free bees and I believe they do. If anyone could make it work, it's Danny Weaver. I also know individuals who have gotten off the pesticide treadmill but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. 

Secondly, I think the judicious use of miticides is a perfectly reasonable reaction to mite infested colonies. There are products out now that do not have the residual buildup and synergistic effects of coumaphos, fluvalinate, etc. I am referring to formic acid and oxalic acid. Neither of these is approved for use in the USA at the moment. In my view, the lack of approval has simply forced beekeepers to buy their own acid and make their own treatments. 

Honestly, this has been done for a century and maybe it's time for the government to adjust to the reality of beekeeping instead of taking the approach that "bad regulations are better than no regulations." Beekeepers are not stupid. They find out what works and what doesn't soon enough. This forum is for sharing information and that's principally what I try to do. Anybody with good ideas is welcome to present them. Bad ideas will be criticized as they should be. Scams will be ruthlessly ridiculed. Caveat emptor.

PLB

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