Yeah, I know first-hand some guys that absolutely do not treat their hives. 
 
I think they do this out of basic "laziness," or maybe their bees are more like feral pets in the backyard and a lower priority than I think the bees deserve.  I also observe a stubborn streak of obstinancy that, as beekeepers, they think they are somehow different than those "other" guys who dope up their bees.  They like to think they're keeping bees like ol' Grandpa did.  Then toss in an ignorant distrust of chemicals in general, and sometimes just plain old ignorance of what is vexing our bees and how it costs so much to treat them.
 
On the whole, their bees live without treatments.  But their results are also anecdotal and mixed.  They tell me they often split their hives (mostly walk-away splits allowing the bees to raise their own queen) to fill in the winter dead-outs.
 
But these beekeepers seldom harvest any appreciable amounts of honey, and as they routinely complain about how their bees are always swarming, I think their secret is the brood break that occurs when the old queen shuts down and the new queen has yet to mate and resume the brood rearing where the varroa multiply.
 
Their "success" at keeping bees alive without treatments is somewhat of a mystery.
 
Grant
Jackson, MO
 


      

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