Non Treatment for Varroa Appears is Working for Some

Once again interesting winter loss figures* from Clive and Shân Hudson from Lleyn & Eifionydd BKA comparing the winter losses of 1096 colonies not treated for Varroa with 477 treated colonies.

 

Interesting to note that during hard winters the gap between the two approaches increases, revealing otherwise hidden stresses in the hive.

Bees allowed to find their own solutions is the only sustainable solution. It's great to see so many people across the UK reporting similar successes.

*some participants treated hives and not others

Update: This is the video I put together on the graph with my friend Tom Gfeller:

Has Varroa Lost Its Sting : Published on Jul 19, 2016

Should we continue treating our bees? Or is it time to put our trust in nature? Across the UK beekeepers see wild unmanaged colonies find a balance with the much dreaded varroa mite. But bees must be allowed to find that balance, and more and more beekeepers are letting them. This also means also letting them follow their natural instincts in other ways.

The world renowned bee researcher Professor Tom D. Seeley from Cornell University commented in "Following the Wild Bees": "probably the greatest shortcoming to repeatedly dosing colonies with pesticides is that it blunts the process of natural selection for bees with resistance to the mites and viruses" We better take notice.