World Authority Identifies Varroa Resistant Bees
A fellow Wisconsin beekeeper forwarded this groundbreaking BBC video to me a few weeks ago. I was very interested. I have been talking about chemical free beekeeping for the last six years. The thought of solid scientific research proving my own beekeeping theories was beyond exciting. Hoskins, a long time chemical free beekeeper from the UK has spent the last 20 years researching and documenting how his honeybees are healthy despite having Varroa present in the hives. Hoskins has scientific proof that a chemical free colony is essential to colony health.
Hoskins, set out to explain why his honeybees consistently defy the diseases carried by Varroa. He enlisted the help of Dr. Declan Schroeder a virus expert and Research Fellow at Marine Biological Association. Schroeder is a world authority on colony collapse disorder. Schroeder was enlisted to investigate and explain why Hoskins honeybees were not affected by CCD. Schroeder explains that Hoskins bees are able to ‘immunize’ themselves against the viruses caused by Varroa mites. This finding indicates Varroa is the immunizer responsible for keeping the lethal viruses in check. The healthy colonies have mites. He further demonstrates that a blanket treatment of Varroa miticides eliminate the self healing immunization and further weaken the ability to adapt to environmental stresses. Here is the evidence in this 10 minute video.