>  I refer to Tom Seeley's reports from the woods of upstate NY.

Tom is trying to record how long his ferals have really been in those trees.
Dann Purvis keeps me posted as he talks with Tom and hopes to be able to get
a few queens for us to test.
If I remember from the conversation Tom is in the second year of following
those *marked* swarms. I am not sure of the way he determines if the old
swarm has died and a new swarm has taken his place.

Tom has taken a bunch of guff from researchers and many beekeepers because
until he is able to prove how long those ferals have been in the tree his
findings mean little.

Give me one of those supposedly varroa tollerant ferals and I will let you
know in a single season how well they handle varroa. A DNA and maybe wing
venation might provide information about the swarm.

For example if the swarm is carniolan and a commercial beekeeper with only
carniolans is a few miles down the road then most likely mystery solved!

If the bees are Russian and supposed to have been in the tree for over ten
years then mystery solved.

Today I went to another city to pick up my share of boxed plastic bears from
a packer with another beekeeper (we go together with the packer  and buy a
truck load) The beekeeper as we were crossing country would point to an area
he had a yard. I would do the same. Near the town of Lone Jack, Missouri we
had yards almost on top of each other.
Both of us thought we were miles from each other!

I have got a new yard near the Maple Leaf conservation area. As I was
driving around the lake I saw a yard of hives which I could not see before
the corn was harvested. Not sure who owns the yard. I will not use my yard
next year but those hives are a mile from me.

I know the area close to my home yard as the land parcels are large and I am
on a first name basis with the owners. The above are locations 15-25 miles
from the home base.

My point is that one never knows the hives for sure in your area. I have
quite a few yards but  I have got only  three which can be seen from roads
but all the rest are hidden from the road.

I would bet money in a weeks time you could not find half my yards unless
you did a fly over (which is the way to make sure of yards in your area). We
have told Tom S. of the common commercial beekeeper method but have never
seen in print he ever took our advice.

>The ferals I've retrieved this year were thriving and swarming - a sign of
healthy reproduction in the wild.

I would love to believe you but ferals are the big unknown.

>I've had managed colonies go up to 3 years without treatments other than
screen bottom before being close to collapse.  The last two years were
marked with deformed wings.

Next fall will tell the story. I would consider hives which have survived 3
years as possible survivors (even with deformed wings).

To select further I would add two full frames of drone comb and leave all
next season. Most likely all will crash but if a single hive survives I
would raise queens from the survivor.

Dann Purvis would raise queens from the survivor even if showing signs by
then of PMS (with added varroa pressure) but I would not but I have to admit
Dann has come up with a better varroa tolerant bee than I did so not sure
what's the best course to take.

PMS is the big unknown in my opinion. I have seen hives with a low varroa
count crashing with PMS!

Normal migratory beekeeping and feeding before the main flow might be enough
for PMS to raise its ugly head in those hives but you have got a start
Waldemar

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri

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