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The queens may have died in autumn. One of the reasons for a leave-alone strategy is to try to locate strains that are good at superceding. With just a few hives you could monitor and take action of some sort, but with 60 or 70 and a bunch of other stuff to get down, live and let die sees, on...

Yes, you may be right. I don't know why they are no more. I'm just guessing they'd have had a better chance in a nice dry home. I've never denied losing colonies to varroa. What I have spoken of is not losing colonies to anything.

I can only disagree. We've had some very wet weather and a cold snap recently. I've lost several colonies to dampness. I'm not so precious about my bees that I think that's indefensible. If it were not for me none of those colonies would have existed at all. Its the practical outcome of...

That is not my opinion. My entire objective is to help beekeepers understand the effect of their actions so that they can make properly informed decisions. Its not clear what you are trying to say. But is worth saying: scientific papers are not 'essays', they are careful formal reports of...

Mollycoddling bees makes for a weakened population. Period. They don't need pretty houses. To clarify: I try to keep the hives mostly dry. And I confess that I've started using celotext on top of nucs to help to get them up to weight before winter. What I'm doing is trying to give them...

yeah, I do! :)

That is kind of blinding us with unnecessary complexity. Village idiots have been selecting for strength and vitality for thousands of years. We don't need to make this hard. K.I.S.S. But yes, there is great complexity underlying the actualities. The trick - of science and good analysis -...

you need to get that into clearer English. There is too much ambiguity of meaning to allow a response.

Look at what I've just written about _pressure_; its presence and its removal. Don't think about commerce or spiritual activity until you are clear on the mechanisms. Otherwise you are letting the tail wag the dog, looking for what you want to find. Objectivity is the name of the game in...

I agree; but its still an unusual way to put things. It may be a useful way to put thing however. Lets remind ourselves: this only occurs in free-living populations. Treated bees are denied the select Interesting I'd like to see some citations I tend, from personal experience, to agree...

I'm not sure what you consider proven, but we can be sure that if polyhives aid colonies significantly, then they will a priori be detrimental to the nearby free living population.

It points to me of adapted local bees suffering under the input of high-fecundity mites from nearby hive, being relieved of that circumstance, and perhaps being sided by the input of less voracious mites. Yes, that's a change of environment, but to account for things in that way is misleading...

Pardon me: if the mite count reduces rapidly? On what timescale? What bees - are you speaking of a population that may be adapting? Hives that may be amongst a thriving local population? Has the beekeeper treated them? You have to make clear and unambiguous statements, propose clear...

Oh give it a rest. You don't have to take my word for it, but for heavens sake read some of the literature. Perhaps all the scientists and all the people claiming to keep untreated bees are all in some grand conspiracy.

I know. I'm also zealous about having brakes in my car, knowing that 2+2=4; and that black is black and white is white. I'm a real unadulterated zealot when it comes to realities.

I think it would be more accurate to say varroa has selected beekeeper actions in apiaries. I find it strange to say 'varroa has selected bee populations', but I suppose it works. I think its clearer to say bee populations have adapted under pressure from varroa; but we can go further and say...

FWIW: I spend a long time arguing with US beekeepers about natural selection and no-treatment beekeeping. I often asked 'Do you understand what I mean by natural selection' and they always replied, yes of course. It eventually became clear that in almost all cases they had _heard_ about...

Of course it does. Everything bee varies from location to location; and having the forage and the nesting sites to support a local feral population is a pre-requisite. The science is clear; the (genetic) husbandry is straightforward. I don't mean to be rude but if you are insufficiently...

I think, excuse me, this is religious thinking. No one can prove that it isn't because there are some miniature garden gnomes buried nearby, or any of an infinite number of other things. But when incredibly deeply rooted theory theory matches a wide range of evidence, and there are no...

Its like that thing: If there are 6 oranges in the fruit bowl, and Sammy eats 2, how many are left in the fruitbowl? [1] We can work out the answer (4) without having Sammy or the fruitbowl in the room. If we breed golden retrievers, and a great dane dog comes in and covers all the ladies...