Hello Tom and All,

> I suppose that even approximate answers are better than no answers at all,
> as they at least give us a ball park to work with.

Beekeeping is not *rocket science* although there are a few on the list
which might argue the point. Once you move past the first wave of varroa
infestation the problem is simply to keep high numbers down.

 I would argue with many researchers (and have done so) that hives with what
they consider not yet needing treatment will simply not produce like a hive
with a very low level infestation. As Ruary pointed out viruses always come
with high infestations and their damage is not completely understood yet.


> What I am at a loss to understand is how Danish and other European
> beekeepers have managed to handle varroa from Day 1 without using
acaracides  to any extent?

Not wanting to answer for the Danish and others I will say that varroa can
be held in check by many simple beekeeping methods. Shaking down the bees on
new foundation greatly reduces varroa load if done at the correct time.
Problem is *NONE* of the so far proposed IPM methods can be applied with
success on a large scale without a *huge* amount of labor involved.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison