Last year I installed a beehive in our garden. Didn't take their honey, didn't treat them for Varroa. In the midst of winter I was sure they were all dead. Then a few days ago temperatures shot up to about 18°c and suddenly they were back, basking in the sunlight and buzzing around the hive. Made me so happy...
Seriously, I've come to understand that contrary to what most of us seem to believe, it's not about what we can do to minimize our negative impact, but rather what we can do to have a positive impact on our environment. Not just ecologically, but also socially and politically.
That is true. I've been dealing with Varroa in the US since I started beekeeping. I've lost many hives because of Varroa. I ran my own experiments treating some hives and not treating others, trying to see if nature would allow me to select the strongest (Varroa-resistant) colonies and selectively breed them. I didn't succeed.
That said no bee breed is 100% resistant. To breed the resistance that this breed has took a very long time and active management like killing susceptible drones to artificially select for the trait. It’s not going to happen with one hive.
And as others have said you might do more harm than good by letting a hive get badly infected, spreading heavy infection to other hives. You should definitely actively manage it.
With the beeweavers I still get some mites, and you need to do a mite count. Typically a mite count of 3% is in danger and needs treatment.
Here in France basically all hives are infected, and male bees are the main propagation vector, since they go and visit other hives.
For me he choice is between an intrusive apiculture - introducing poisonous chemicals into the hive, frequent interventions, essentially having a dependent, weak bee population - and a more gentle one where I keep intervention to a minimum, and instead focus on giving the bees a healthy, thriving habitat, a garden without pesticides, access to water, and lots of flowers.
Depending on where you are they may not be out of the danger zone yet. Here in Colorado we regularly get mid-to-high 60F days and I know people who lost hives as late as April.
You didn't take their excess honey, but I assume you still inspected to give them room otherwise they could easily have swarmed.
That is fantastic. We really have no hope unless there is some initiative that encourages literally everyone to do this kind of thing. I just came across this yesterday and it really inspired me:
It is so much work though and only a few people would really have such commitment to do it on their own. We need new legislation that requires e.g. every new land development to rewild some fraction of that land, or some great benefits for people that otherwise perform ecological stewardship. It's the only way we can turn this around.
Seriously, I've come to understand that contrary to what most of us seem to believe, it's not about what we can do to minimize our negative impact, but rather what we can do to have a positive impact on our environment. Not just ecologically, but also socially and politically.