Paul Redmond wrote:I hadn't thought of a do nothing type approach. it makes sense, when you can see the hive is thriving, leave it alone.
I personally take it a bit further: even if a hive is
not thriving, I leave it alone. that can mean that hives dwindle and die. hasn't happened to me so far, but it's a risk. for somebody with only one or two hives, that possibility might be unacceptable.
my rationale: if the bees can't hack it on their own, I'm not interested in their genetics continuing in the
local bee population. I want bees that are adapted to local conditions. I also believe that leaving a hive alone better maintains the integrity of the nest atmosphere, which is manipulated at substantial metabolic cost by the bees. depending on colony strength, season, hive style,
et cetera, it can take up to several days for that hive atmosphere to return to normal after a hive is opened.
I've found that even colonies that appear to be struggling, say with varroa, are capable of some amount of adaptation and rebound if left to their own devices. so while I am
prepared to lose individual colonies, I haven't actually lost any yet. (turns out Jean-Baptiste Lamarck wasn't
all wrong.)
on the other hand, other non-intervention beeks I'm aware of regularly suffer over 50% losses annually, so there's no guarantee that letting them alone will work as well as it has for me. there are a lot of factors at play that will influence our results, many of them outside our immediate control.