Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[Adam Rose]

An interesting post and discussion at http://www.honeybeesuite.com/are-we-obsessed-with-varroa-mites/.

[ingo50]

Thanks for posting Adam, an interesting perspective from Rusty. Varroa is probably the straw that breaks the camels back. The problems bees face in the 21 century are multifactorial and mostly created by man. I believe a lot of colonies are stressed by hive designs with poor heat retention , weakening the resources leading to less time and energy spent on hive hygiene and housekeeping, less energy for foraging and propolis gathering, amongst many others. The agrochemical industry has also promoted Varroa as public enemy no 1, as this promotes a market for more treatments for bees.

[Tavascarow]

I think the powers that be want us to be obsessed with varroa because it distracts from the wider problems.
Many natural beekeepers are proving that resistance to varroa is increasing.
Resistance to an increasingly toxic environment is not.
When a colony collapses few of us can afford a full post mortem.
It would be very interesting to know quantities & types of pesticides & other chemicals present.
Another affecting problem is rapidly changing climate.
Here we are seeing an increase in very mild winters & very wet summers. Neither good for bees, & another stresor that can prove fatal.
Varroa are like Syrian refugees. Easy to see, & easy to blame, but the truth is usually something completely different.

[catchercradle]

To expand the analogy, when the financial system favours the rich, this becomes more obvious when there is an influx of people who are by dint of having left everything behind poor.

In the same way, if our colonies are stressed by climate changes,pesticides and monocrop deserts then thew are much more likely to succumb to varroa who then get blamed.