Here is another take on Darwinian beekeeping - that effective mite treatment (at least in my apiary) prevents selection for Varroa resistance.

I keep Varroa levels very low - so that by late Sept, once the hive is broodless, I am getting a mite drop of 200 with OAV.  And subsequent treatments with OAV are 50 or less.

So my bees do not have significant mite counts, with the "clean slate" approach to mite management, which is to get mite counts very low in fall/winter, and then coast until the next fall/winter.

I am not seeing the selective pressures of Varroa because they aren't experiencing it.  

For my goals, this approach provides low-virus conditions so the bees are not compromised for making honey and making bees.  I can also relax about Varroa in the summer - levels don't get high enough in that time to be an issue for the bees.  It does not provide a gradient of Varroa pressure though.  

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