Hi Steve

> We are talking about the DOMESTICATED honey bee here are we not?

The problem is not whether the bees are domesticated or wild, without 
man's intervention the spread of varroa would have been much more slow, 
but it would still have spread and even with the lower rate that would 
have happened in the absence of beekeepers, the effect on colonies would 
have been similar, although the slowness of spread may have helped host 
and parasite co-exist better than they do at present.

I always try and consider what nature is trying to do and work with it, 
sudden changes in management or genetics work against the survival of 
colonies without beekeepers. I have always had the goal in my breeding 
work of producing something that is self propagating rather than 
requiring intervention.

> We consistently confuse the distinction between what is a problem 
> for the honeybee and what is a problem for us beekeepers. 

This is true all over the world, but shows up very strongly in US 
compared to Europe.

> Having said that, I personally find interfering is a big part of what makes 
> beekeeping interesting.  I want control! 

So do I !
But we have to be mindful of whether our control is beneficial or 
Machiavellian

> Cell size anyone?  

I believe there is more to be known about cell size, but it is not a 
'one size fits all' thing, we need to do some research to get answers, 
but the researchers have already made up their minds on this issue and 
would rather spend their funds elsewhere.

> Unnaturally close distribution of colonies? Etc? 

Leslie Bailey did some work on this and I believe that his work should 
be followed up, it might be unpalatable to large commercial 
organisations to limit the numbers of hives in a given area, but if 
there are survival benefits, it might be worthwhile changing the 
commercial practices.


Regards & Best 73s, Dave Cushman, G8MZY
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman or http://www.dave-cushman.net
Short FallBack M/c, Build 6.02/3.1 (stable)

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