Hi, Grant,

you wrote:
>Yeah, I know first-hand some guys that absolutely do not treat their hives. 

Well, now you can say you know of a gal who posts to 'Bee L' who does not treat
her hives. 

>I think they do this out of basic "laziness," or maybe their bees are more like feral pets in the backyard and a lower priority than I think the bees deserve.

Wow, this a presumptuous and somewhat insulting sweeeping statement.

>They like to think ...

Speaking for myself, thinking is not a matter of what I like or don't like
but what works and what doesn't which with bees usually begins with 'it depends'.
 
>They tell me they often split their hives (mostly walk-away splits allowing the bees to raise their own queen) 

I too ask my colonies to raise their own queens, and splits are a two step process.
During Spring build up, I drop a frame of foundation between two or three frames of sealed brood and the following weekend those frame sets are pulled for nucs.
 
>But these beekeepers seldom harvest any appreciable amounts of honey,
 If you have a study correlating the two; non treatment and diminished honey
 production, I would like to see it.
 
>Their "success" at keeping bees alive without treatments is somewhat of a mystery.

Not to me. Success at anything usually involves a good deal of work.

Kathy Kellison
 

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