Mark,
I am interested in your proposition, and somewhat disheartened by the current response by some others, including mods and other 'senior' forum members.
I started beekeeping a long time after varroa made its entrance into the UK. Nonetheless, I speak to many older beekeepers who - back then - experienced totally devastating losses as a result of the mite. Obviously, varroa is still a very large issue, not least as high loads will inevitably serve as a vector for viruses etc...
That said, I would wager that, nowadays, most of us could move to a nigh-on 'treatment free' regime, and get our bees through the winter, and probably through another couple of years, before the related disease load took an ultimate toll. I have (and have had) colonies not only surviving, but thriving, in spite of very heavy mite loads...... though I appreciate it's not ideal, and will ultimately (whenever) lead to the bees' demise.
So I treat; as most of us do (and should).
However, given the point that varroa is here to stay, the more profound issue here is that we need to accept that the two organisms need to co-evolve; indeed, I think most would concede that, over the previous 20, 30, 40 years there has already been co-evolution to the point that honeybees in the UK can *generally* tolerate varroa, to a degree. In fact, let's face it.. over those timelines, it's not evolution, it's adaptation.
VSH bees are clearly better adapted, so why wouldn't a beekeeper seek to introduce those VSH genes to improve their stock ? Why should we (as you suggest) NOT be promoting this ?
So, to the thrust of your question … Is there a tangible benefit to keeping VSH bees ? What does it achieve ?
To mbc's point that, if you go down this (VSH) route, you need to constantly keep on top of the genes to make sure the traits are not being diluted over time ... well, I guess that's about regression, and is probably a fair point.
Nonetheless, take humans out of the equation; whichever way you spin the coin, co-evolution/VSH traits are the ONLY way that bees will cope with the endemic mite going forward. That is an almost inarguable point. You can fight it with all your toxic Amitraz etc... but the bees will need to have evolved a coping mechanism long after we have gone.
For me, it (the underlying philosophy) forms one of the key discussions about how we manage our bees over the next few decades.
So, it's therefore more than a little disappointing to see how mods (and other similar senior members, recent mods) respond to you as OP.
Emyr - your first comment seems to basically say, "you're welcome to your opinion, but please stick it up your arse"
Dani - of all things, you sit tight and then take umbrage at spelling (“pupi”/”pupae”), when I thought this place was a ‘broader church’ than that, and lots of spelling and grammatical errors are (rightly, nowadays) permitted to flow ... I don't see you asking who (other Mark) Curly Green is fingering, as his name suggests ??
Disappointing and passive aggressive.
I personally think Mark's musings on VSH Queens/colonies warrant proper discussion.
Or have I missed something on VSH Queens ?? Are they actually the spawn of satan ?
