Keith said:
My knowledge of your beekeeping successfully commercially has a history of
only being two years without treatments for any one hive that is surviving.

The Russian project is at three years untreated because I went through the
hives two weeks ago completing the three seasons and three winters. The
Russians on new comb look better than those on *previously before Russian
use chemical strips used comb*.

The Russians I moved on to strong  fall flows look better and have bigger
clusters than those which were not.

I have had one feral colony I removed from a building go three years
untreated before dying from varroa. The owner of the building said the bees
had been in the building for five years prior to the removal. The hive
always carried a high varroa load and deformed bees but survived. I have my
doubts as to the colony not being a fresh swarm .

I have had SMR breeder (Glenn Apiaries) daughter queens bees live five years
untreated but with poor brood viability , supercedure problems and very poor
honey crops.

Bob

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