Respond to pollinator
 
   I collected three swarms this season, that I believed to have originated
from stock that was never treated for varroa, or was wild for several
generations at least. I put these in a beeyard close to home and did not
treat them with apistan. Two have died; the third looks good so far. If they
go till spring, I'll be looking at them real hard.
   We have a local beekeeper who has been in a nursing home for about four
years and of his 50 or so hives two are still alive. I've been trying to talk
him into selling them to me, but so far, no luck. The bees are as black as
any stock I've seen. I don't think they are carniolan, but they don't act as
defensive as many of the black wild or german bees that we sometimes see.
   I agree that we should be closely monitoring wild stock. We have to treat
commercial bees, or go out of business. But that doesn't stop us from testing
out the few wild strains we can still find.
 
Reply:  Pollinator @aol.com.