On 12/19/2013 2:38 AM, Rowena wrote:
Very interesting post. Apparently Australia is pretty much the last
"clean" country, but they reckon it's only a matter of time before the
mite shows up. This was on TV recently.
Which mite, the varroa or tracheal? Anyway, the mite is of no
consequence, as long as one has bees acclimated to the local area,
naturally sized, and with a good genetic makeup. There are several
apiaries around here, and the ones that do this have 0 losses to the
varroa, and mine which is the same I never saw one single mite all
year. I do no treatment all at all, not even a powdered sugar shake.
The others, that have oversized bees, and treat with mitacides had about
a 40% loss last year.
If you want bees that don't require treatment and are not bothered by
mites at all, then let them build their natural sized comb (or use 4.9
foundation), and get them from a local treatment free apiary, or better
yet, set out swarm traps and catch a free feral swarm. Make sure that
the combs have never been in a hive that has had mite treatments, the
treatments weaken the bees, cause the queens to fail, strengthen the
mites, and lead to CCD, and can contaminate the comb for decades.
Marshall
