> Ah, er, nowhere in the above can I see any reference to inevitable.

Yes, but this a running thread throughout these discussions. Folks tend to assume that at some point in time we will no longer need to treat bees for mites, because the species will reach some state of equilibrium. This is supported by the fact that Apis cerana and varroa coexist, as well as the apparent coexistence in tropical Apis mellifera. 

Finally, some isolated populations also appear to have reached such a steady state. However, I was trying to emphasize that populations just as often succumb to invasive species. In particular, the varroa mite was *used* to eradicate the non-native honey bee from an island off the coast of California. 

This little experiment could have gone either way, and I expect the PIs would have been keen on it going the second path. THat is, either it works one way and you end up with no bees and no varroa, or it works the other way and you end up with a very valuable mite resistant strain of honey bee. This second scenario (so far as I know) did not occur

PLB

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