On Wed, 20 Mar 1996, my name is Dean M. Breaux wrote:
 
> practical bee research is a precious commodity and it is extremely expensive.
> Why should we limit ourselves to the resources that we have here in the USA.
> We need not be so arrogant to think that if some one else develops a bee
> resistant to mites or a better honey producer that we can do the same. Even
> if we can, at what cost in time and resources.
 
        I'm not opposed to the importation of semen but I am not sure we
are ready for it. If we had the semen from a truly resistant line, we
would still have to do all the very expensive selection and assay work
that it took in the the first place, or the traits will be lost. Sure
this is the best approach to our problem but I doubt the industrys desire
or ability to support such work. This may sound negative but just look at
all the unused research we have now. Most beekeepers are not willing or
able to incorporate new techniques into their management. Even
re-queening isn't practiced enough. How many beekeepers will adopt a
system of disease control that requires real queen management ? How many
will simply look for cheaper chemicals ? How did beekeepers choose to
deal with AFB ? T-mites ?