If you bring bees from somewhere that has never seen Varroa or Tracheal 
are you better off or worse?

Short term, you are probably better off since you start at zero 
infection. So you see good results right off but in time nature will 
take its course.You postpone the inevitable if mites are able to move 
into your area, or have been there all along. But, in time, you will be 
worse off than if you used local bees or stock that has been confronted 
with mites.

That can be seen in humankind with diseases unknown to one group 
infecting another on first contact (i.e. smallpox and Native Americans 
and syphilis and Europeans). It is opposite of all the research into 
making a tolerant bee, such as Medhat's work with Tracheal, or 
importation of Russians, Yugo and other bees that might be mite 
tolerant. It is also opposite all of us who try to raise our own from 
survivors, trying to get a healthy bee that survives in local conditions.

As with Native Americans and Europeans, it works both ways. You may 
bring in a bee that is tolerant of diseases found in the old area but 
not in the new area. You think you are bringing in healthy stock, but 
really have no idea what pathogens may be present since the bee has 
dealt with them long ago, or has never been stressed by mites for the 
disease to appear. The bees in the new area are susceptible and may die 
off in large numbers.

So it is not far off the mark to question the advisability of bring in a 
bee that has never seen Varroa or Tracheal, especially since it seems 
counter to everything else that is going on in the "stressed" rest of 
the world. It seems more advisable to use stock from stressed areas, 
just as most researchers are doing.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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