> And what would this lead to? Infinitely increasing the size of the apiary?
> Even if you could sell off the splits, at some point in the season the
> demand would dry up, and their value would fall below cost.
>

 Granted, the goal of this study is survival, not production. Still, one
> wonders if it could be shoehorned into a profitable scheme.


It has been.

My observation of some no-treat beekeepers is that they do just what you
describe. By continual splitting and selling off the splits as nucs you can
control Varroa and sell the nucs as non-treated colonies. They are truthful
in that they do not treat but the bees are not Varroa tolerant and will
succumb eventually if not treated or continually split as you described.
Truly is a "profitable scheme".

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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