Tom Elliott wrote:
 Dave Black wrote:
>Would anyone agree that this (surviving untreated) is not the criterion
>for success. Surely we would want to monitor the mite population. How
>could this be estimated without using a chemical knockdown and stopping
>the trial ?
>
> I would agree that colonies surviving and remaining healthy is exactly the criterion for success.  In the process of developing such monitoring
> representative colonies would be needed.  But, that is only for the purpose of study.  Beekeepers only want healthy colonies.
 
 
        I think you're both right. It would be improper to use
"surviving" as the only criteria in a breeding program for varroa
resistance, but colonies that survive in an enviroment where many other
colonies have died from varroa may be a good startig point for
selection.