by Calvin Robinson

Created on: October 04, 2008   Last Updated: October 06, 2008

I believe we, as beekeepers, must get off of the chemical treadmill in order to save European honeybees. We have used chemicals as the silver bullet to save our bees, until we have created a super mite that chemicals will not touch. Now, we have to use chemicals so strong that we harm the very bees we are trying to help. Evidence in almost every aspect of beekeeping indicates the chemical solution has really compounded the problem of the Varroa mites.

I have often wondered - if we had used other methods besides chemicals to combat the Varroa mites, would we have bees that are more resistant to them now? In South Africa, when the mites came, their honeybees were impacted too. The fact is, the people had neither the money to buy chemicals nor the knowledge to use them. As a result, the South African colonies developed resistance very quickly. It only took 3-5 years for the African and Cape bees in South Africa to develop resistance. In fact, the African bee had a little more resistance to start with but they did have to adapt. I believe European bees, though they may take longer than the African bees, would develop resistance if we stay away from treating them with chemicals. Both the African bees and the Cape bees of South Africa have proven that is possible.

My thinking first started along these lines when I found out our bees have developed resistance to Tracheal Mites. Resistance to Tracheal Mites is a dominate trait and as a result, I do not treat for them at all. If we let the weak bees just die, we will only have the resistant bees left. Could this not also work with Varroa mites? Of course this may not work the same way if our bees do became resistant to Varroa but, at the very least, I believe we will see the bee mite relationship stabilize eventually if we do not prop up our bees with chemicals all the while causing a development of a super mite. Think about it, a successful parasite does not kill its host. True, the Varroa Mite is from a different type of honeybee, but if they could develop a stable relationship with one type of bee, why not with an exotic host?

We have been trying for a good while to develop bees that are resistant to Varroa mites. Some progress has been made in that regard, but we have a long way to go. I have personally been seeking out feral colonies that have survived for more than two years without chemical treatment to breed from so as to gain any potential resistance for my own apiary. I recently heard interesting news about feral

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