>If it happen they use a Russian medicine. We were told is herbal!

I went on a 2 day tour of different beekeeping operation in Ukraine also.  One of the beekeepers we visited was "organic" and used no chemicals.  There was 51 people on my tour, and when we visited this beekeeper there was also a tour of Spanish speaking beekeepers visiting too.  So it was crowded and difficult to understand what was going on.  People milling around talking amongst themselves, 2 different interpreters talking, and difficulty getting close to the demonstration.

The beekeeper used horseradish to treat something. (everything?)  I'm not even sure how he prepared it.

My anecdotal observations:
The tour visited 4 beekeeping operations and 2 universities.  Of the 4 beekeeping operations, 3 used chemicals and 1 was organic.
The 3 beekeeping operations showed signs of profitability.  All 3 beekeepers had nicer vehicles, newer equipment, cleaner looking operations, nicer houses, etc.  All 3 beekeepers talked about how they were expanding their operations.  Those 3 beekeepers had a much higher quality of life than the average Ukrainian. (Bayvarol seemed to be a common varroa treatment.)

The organic beekeeper's equipment was in rougher shape.  Vehicles and other equipment appeared to be in need of maintenance.  The organic beekeeper did not talk about any plans for expansion or investing in other areas of beekeeping.

Simply put, the beekeepers who treated their bees with chemicals had money to spend on a better quality of life.  (Credit is minimal in Ukraine, so much is paid for with cash out of pocket.)  The organic beekeeper did not appear to have excess money to spend on maintaining equipment, much less excess money for capital expenses.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html