It may be a case of only seeing what you want to see but I am not sure of all these statements that say treatment free bee keeping is so rare.  Survey numbers say that 60 percent or so of bee keepers don't treat.  How would you count those others that do treat but do not do it effectively?  I do agree that location may just be lucky for those who have some success.  I agree with what megan wrote that bees she has sold to small isolated keepers do well but they die in her apary.  Everybody may have thier ideal of what is successful as far as keeping bees and so if I don't end up with 200 lbs of honey per hive that that doesn't count.  I have been a member of beescource for a couple of years and have watched the new members that sign up that have kept bees for years and not treated and it seems like as many have joined that don't treat as that do.  The ones that have had bees for several years before joining seem to have had as much success as the ones who are treating.  Now these are all small scale keepers and not running comercial operations.  It has to be said that it is only taking what they say as mostly fact and not some official measuring and so there is probly lots of measures not known of what they are actually getting while keeping those bees.  One offical survey says half of all bee keepers don't treat though.

Not every bee keeper has wrote a book and put the spot light on themselves but I just think there is more not treating then treating properly.  

There may not be more bees under the care of those keepers that don't treat.  It may be luck in what success they have due to where they keep bees.  What they consider success may be differrent then what others do.  But there are a lot of people with bees out there that do not apply cheimicals to their hives.  Surely nobody contest the survey numbers that places like bee imformed come up with by asking bee keepers what they do.

Some of them, even if by luck of the draw, have some success.  This does not imply that every one could have success but more that if you are having success, it is not a bad thing. It may not be the answer for the industery, but might be worth doing in places it can be done.  I do think it is being done more then is reconized.
Cheers
gww

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