Bill wrote:
> Nope, in all colonies with no treatments.

You are not in an area near to other commercial beekeepers then?
If perhaps you are relatively isolated and the bees still did bad,
this would suggest in my opinion low resistance in your stock, 
perhaps stock derived from bees supported by treatments.

Weather the resistance comes from the surrounding population or 
your stock, your bees seem not capable of sustaining themselves 
without treatments.  Now understand that I am not supporting small
cell here, I do NOT believe in miracle cures, or single cures to mites,
it takes a multiple of mechanisms for a colony to effectively control
varroa.  With this in mind,  I really do not see how you can assume any
any cause other than ‘lack of resistance’ as the fault of your failure.
<<<< Small cell or any other single mechanism is NOT a replacement 
for low resistant stock! >>>> 

You have stated earlier something to the effect that resistance will 
come from within the bee or the varroa,  I agree with your statement,
and your trial proves more about your statement than it does small
cell in that sufficient resistance has ‘not arrived in any form to 
your bees’ just yet. 

This is why from 2000 till current, I still bring bee trees to let 
swarm off into the wild, assuming that I could not make any
progress until the feral population recovered in my area, so this
became a priority, it has been costly for me, but now the 
investment is returning. 

Dont give up, keep trying to use minimal treatments.

Best Wishes,
Joe


      

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