Hello Bob -

>  Also I fully expect to see the
> small hive beetle in our area one of these days and the plastic cuts the SHB
> loses.

From what I'm reading in the September issue of ABJ, the SHB is, for all
practical purposes, a non-threat. Plastic or wax, you play by the rules and
you're only dealing with 5 percent of the problems produced by the SHB.
There is no reason to think you should have to be thinking about damaged
combs.

>> or what one pays out in  queens in a season in a commercial operation
>> should easily purchase a mill.
>
> Without a doubt!  Dee says her queens are only one third of her success with
> varroa. In my opinion you will always need queens even with small cell.

The big difference here being you are working with your own stock and
raising your own queens verses purchasing from a vendor.

> Also
> Dee has built a building, tanks etc. to produce enough foundation for her
> outfit.

I can tell you it takes very little to accomplish this in terms of buildings
and tanks, etc.

> Very true but a bigger point is what will the industry do when varroa
> becomes resistant to all *legal* chemicals.

Exactly. And the answer is?

>> Do you truly believe  breeding alone will save the industry?
>
> If varroa can not reproduce (as advertised) on those SMR bees?  yes!
> If 100% resistant queens can't be  produced consistently year after year it
> won't happen.

Then it ain't happening. Nowhere is it claimed that SMR bees will ever be
100% resistant. The best I can find promised is a lower number of mites. Low
enough to stop the usage of chemicals? I quote from ABJ - Sept, 2001, "SMR -
The Next Step Towards Surviving with Varroa Mites":

"We have not allowed our honey bees to develop their own natural defenses to
the Varroa Mite. Instead, beekeepers have provided protection from the mites
in the form of chemical applications. In order for honey bees to develop
resistance against the Varroa Mites, honey bees must have some exposure to
the mites. However, with our current use of chemical applications, we as
beekeepers have kept mite levels very low, too low, for bees to develop
their own resistance mechanism against the mites. If the incorporation of
the SMR trait is successful, it will keep Varroa infestation levels low
enough to prevent economic damage, but high enough to allow a sustainable
relationship to develop between honey bees and Varroa Mites."

Question: On the SMR queens you are working with, do you plan to refrain
from using all mite treatments on the bees to test the claims?

> In my opinion formic acid gel has proven to be around 50% effective when
> used exactly right and the weather cooperates. If SMR has a control anywhere
> over 50% then you are saving the costs chemicals.

Not exactly. You must also factor in continually buying new queens to keep
the traits. Also as stated above, I don't see SMR working well with
continued chemical usage.

Regards,
Barry