a snip...
> Is there any actual data that shows southern queens under perform in the north versus queens with the same genetics raised in the north? I think this is simply a myth which mainly seems to be pushed hard by the treatment free folks as an excuse for letting bees die.
my comments..
I suspect you are correct here although (and once again) attributing human purpose or motivation to anything can be viewed as projection on your part. I would suspect a more obvious reason is attributed to marketing or 'follow the money'.... and quite often leading to folks with shallow roots (and consequently little experience) in beekeeping. Having said that you might think prior to the arrival of varroa no hives of bees ever died and ALL needs to be conscious that if you are a hammer everything looks like a nail. Basically if all you are looking at is varroa then that is quite likely to be all you will see and this problem provides a check and employment for many folks inside and outside of academia.
It seems us no treatment folks are now the whipping boy of many many people associated with beekeeping and certainly it takes a leap of faith and significant short term financial cost to go down that road but at the least we are not making the problem worse nor are we extending the time line for dealing with varroa in a positive fashion.
I have not treated (except for certain student project at very small scale) on my own bees for about a decade and have minor winter/yearly loss and a non confounding factor in pursuing this path is also do not have comb contaminated by me the beekeeper. A factor many many people should consider before they consider treating with this or that compound.
Basically the same 'sermon' I have had to deliver to the students at the Texas A&M bee lab much too frequently..
Gene in central Texas
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