> > The unmanaged, "organic" feral population was decimated. Those bees > existed > in as natural a state as can be. But virtually all died. So much for the > power of organic beekeeping to fight parasites (in the short term). I can add an anecdotal data point. When I lost my bees last year I put out several different baits to see if there were any bees in the area. Zero. But I keep as organic an operation as you can get, in fact I lost my bees because I did not treat that year as a test of small cell. So any feral bees would have been about as free from any treatments as possible. (The only treatment I have used is oxalic acid and it has worked every year I have used it, and I only treat once in the late fall.) When I got my new bees, all the baits were inundated with bees (as a test to see if there was a problem with the baits). So there has been plenty of opportunity for feral colonies to survive in my area, but they did not. Here in California, I sell my chemical-free nucs to starry-eyed > New Age beekeepers every spring. Unfortunately, most of those nucs die > from > the owner trying to impose his/her belief system upon the bees, as the > poor > bees face the ruthless hand of nature. > Another standard observation. I know of no organic beekeeper in my area who still keeps bees. All the bees died out. I do have a few new beekeepers in the area this year, and hope they do well. Also, very nice to see both Murray and Allen posting again. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine **************************************************** * General Information About BEE-L is available at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm * ****************************************************