I offered a place in my apiary to a friend who has a top bar hive as she
had to move and had never overwintered a colony successfully. We wanted to
see if they would do better with some wind protection and a very nice
setting with full sun. I had told her often that they are called "Kenyan"
and not "Maine" TBH for a reason so I did not give them much of a chance..

They survived the winter and are in excellent shape. All her other colonies
died at her new home.

My dilemma is she is a "natural" beekeeper who does not treat but says that
bees are naturally resistant to Varroa when they build their own comb.

I originally decided that I really did not want a Varroa repository next to
my colonies over the next several years and that she should move her bees,
but I now am having a change of heart for several reasons.

First is the obvious. As a scientist I have a nice, semi-controlled
experiment right in my yard (granted the "semi" is so big it defeats the
conclusions that can be drawn). Second, since I let my bees grown their own
queens, I have more drones from different stock.

The third is also obvious. I can learn about top bar hives, since part of
the deal will be to allow me to inspect them for Varroa and other problems
to protect my own colonies.

You can see that I am now leaning strongly toward keeping the hive, but
would be interested in other views. I know some have run trials with
non-treated colonies in their apiaries and wonder what if any additional
measure did you take to keep Varroa in check in the non-controlled group?

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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