> If one were to establish a varroa free beeyard in an area where swarms were unlikely to survive in the wild what might be a safe distance to the nearest varroa infested hive?

This is a very interesting question and one I have posed in the past. In most areas where hives are kept, you will be within flight range of each other. Queens and drones can fly up to ten miles and varroa can be transmitted in this. 

However, it may be possible to establish varroa free beeyards in marginal areas where bees are not generally kept. Tom Seeley has established isolated hives in the course of his experiments in the Adirondack region of NY and on an island off the coast of Maine. The problem is: these are marginal areas and bees can't really survive there, not enough flowers.

However, there seem to be localized populations of bees that are tolerant to varroa. If you live in one of these areas, like New Mexico, Texas, or Arizona, you may be able to keep your hives alive using these local stocks. 

In my area, there are so many commercial beekeepers, that whatever they have -- we have.

PLB

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