The swarminess and occupation of smaller cavities by AHB may help their 
feral part of of the population, but does little to explain the "no 
treatment needed" of managed colonies that beekeepers report on.  It is 
possible to manage AHB so they do not swarm very frequently- basically 
running them with a good amount of space.  So if there is something to 
the no treatment, it has to be other factors.

The notion that smaller cavities and swarming will help European or 
Africanized colonies cope better with varroa mites seems like a stretch 
and may only be a minor factor in some circumstances.  These life 
history parameters simply delay the inevitable if mite growth is 
greater than 0.  Modelling has shown that only when mite growth is 
negative is there a significant long term effect on keeping mite 
numbers low so that no treatment is needed.

 

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