Todd writes:
>I do agree that sometimes it seems that there is little to be done
>except bite the bullet and use a chemical on a problem like varroa,
>until a real solution presents itself (like breeding). This, of
>course, is especially true of pros like yourself, unlike hobbyists
>like me, who can afford to experiment a bit. The flipside, though,
>would appear to be that troubling times like these actually create
>niches and opportunities for the creative. In the end, I'm sure that
>nature's resolve will present itself either way.

I am sorry if I have stirred something up here. I think that it is
worth the effort to uncover the truth, no matter how unsavory. The
truth is, honey has pesticides in it, even if you are not using them,
because of the sad state of our environment. The good news is that
the amount is minuscule, only of major concern to people who
entertain the notion of absolute purity (which doesn't exist). Our
environment is probably a lot safer now than when everybody was
burning coal.

I am not a professional beekeeper any more (was for many years). Now
I am involved in honey bee research and spend all of my time on
experiments. We tried to avoid coumaphos just like a lot of other
beekeepers. In fact, when we finally used it, it cut back our mite
populations so severely that we had to stop because we *need* mites
to continue our studies. But returning to Apistan was a disaster. It
no longer works for us.

As far creativity goes, there are a lot of very creative people
working on this one. Some do creative work, others fantasize, but
never mind! Yes, nature can solve this! But the solution might not be
the one you want. Nature would let the susceptible bees -- my bees --
die out and replace them with more aggressive ones. Breeding better
bees is what we are working on but if it was simple, we would already
have them.

One last word: I have no particular agenda to promote. I don't sell
anything, I don't apply for grant money. I just work with bees and I
would like to see the next generation be able to keep bees and sell
honey.

Peter Borst, Ithaca, NY