?> I have been checking out Ontario's current recommendations for disease 
prevention and control...

Good points.  Thanks.  I have noticed that thresholds have been lowered over 
time.  I assume that is due to the proliferation of viruses over time and 
possibly the introduction of new ones and mutations abetted by varroa as a 
vector.  We are seeing the tipping point , as measured by varroa, in commercial 
operations getting lower and lower.

At the same time, we do see some people achieving success with keeping their 
bees without treatment of any sort.  I know it did not work for me.  I was 
seduced by the reports and gave it a shot several times, sometimes with natural 
swarms and sometimes in managed hives.  Each time, the result was colony loss.

I inspect commercial colonies and see that keeping varroa and nosema down with 
treatments allows profitable beekeeping where formerly, due to high levels of 
each, outfits were collapsing wholesale.

It has been interesting to see the topic come around again and to see that 
there is apparently no resolution.  We don't seem to be able nail down the 
secret(s).

It seems that there are pockets of success without treatment.  Whether this is 
due to technique, stock, local environment, luck or other factors in each case 
is not clear.  We know that it takes up to three years for collapse to occur in 
absence of intervention.  We also know that there are strains which, if kept 
pure and away from other bees thrive without chemical assistance, but as for 
bees which can thrive in commercial use without treatments of various sorts, we 
are not seeing more than a few isolated examples, and the track record is not 
long enough or well enough documented to provide more than a hope.  Few prudent 
commercial operators will go down that road as of yet.

We noticed that Weavers did publicly admit to some level of africanization at a 
recent meeting.  There is little doubt that Dee has some AHB in here stock, 
after all some of it comes directly from swarms collected on Tucson golf 
courses years ago.  Perhaps this assists in tolerance.

Local systems may contain natural anti-varroa or anti-viral plants or minerals. 
Who knows.

All in all, this is a challenging subject. 

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