Less virulent varroa is not self-deception.  It is one of the valid 
mechanisms for overcoming varroa.    we caused this 
problem....  we just need to get out of the way so the bees can solve it.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but these are not new ideas. You give no examples of non-virulent varroa mites that can be objectively confirmed. And as James points out, if commercial beekeepers have especially virulent mites due to repeated treatments, those mites are going to be in your hives unless you live on an island. 

I agree that evolution _could_ solve this problem, but the results might not please us. For example, Apis cerana does not succumb to varroa mites, but they are frequent swarmers, abscond when disturbed, and produce one tenth the amount of honey as apis mellifera. Would you still keep bees if they were constantly swarming and didn't produce a decent honey crop?

PLB

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