Hello Joe & All, Joe said: >I would attribute the success small cell and good management practices. Possibly but his use of FGMO & essential oils makes the above suspect. Especially if done on a regular basis. Especially if his FGMO is laced with thymol ( common practice these days). My research done with a large number of Russian and varroa tolerant lines of bees involved zero treatment of any kind. The reason only around 12 hives are left and those are survivors but not very productive. Many which use both Russian and varroa tolerant lines also TREAT. Why they waste their money I am not sure. When you treat you can't even select a correct breeder queen. I NEVER saw a Russian,varroa tolerant or smr hybrid hive I could not find varroa or tracheal mites in in fall. Dee Lusby will tell you you can find varroa in her hives but not a problem. Dann Purvis will say you can find varroa in his lines. Charlie Harper will say you can find varroa in his Russian bees. Varroa once they arrive will not be controlled completely even with choumaphos or fluvalinate. The truly varroa tolerant bee will carry a varroa load but will handle the load. I have spent weeks talking to the worlds best researchers and they have formed my opinion. I found tracheal mites in my Russian bees but NEVER an infestation. Varroa in every hive but if pure Russian/Russian they handled varroa with no sign of parasitic mite syndrome. Russian and varroa tolerant bees are as Martha Stewart would say "A good thing". Sure there are points about the above bees we do not care for but NEVER the concept. The answer to varroa in my opinion lies in the varroa tolerant bee. bob -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---