Randy wrote:
>
> However, I am still optimistic, and find that overall varroa tolerance of
> various lines is improving.  This year I again purchased breeders from
> various survivor stocks, and will be following their progress.

I agree whole heartedly! I backed the search for a varroa tolerant bee
before such a search was cool. I did an article for Bee Culture on my
experience with a Russian queens back in 2004 (I think correct date) and an
article on the varroa tolerant bee research of Purvis Brothers in the 
January 2005 issue of the
American Bee Journal.

I brought 26 instrumentally inseminated varroa tolerant queens back to 
Missouri in 2004. A picture of me inseminating a queen is on page 43 of the 
magazine of the January 2005 ABJ article.

I am on a first name basis with both Sue & Marla. I have had conversations
with the USDA-ARS researchers in Baton Rouge. A heck of a lot of progress
has been made!

However the bottom line is:
Dr. Shiminuki (ret. head of the USDA_ARS and one of the best beekeeping
minds I ever met) assured U.S. beekeepers that we would get a bee within
TWENTY years which would survive varroa without treatment in a commercial
setting and could be released into the wild to rebuild the feral colonies.

Although "Shim" was not correct on his twenty year prediction he was correct 
on the value of the Russian bee. "Shim" made the import a reality. "Shim" 
took quite a bit of criticism as many were against the Russian import.

I actually pushed for the import for a different reason. New genetics!


 For those seeing me write "added varroa pressure" for the first
time you need to search the archives as I discuss the concept in great
detail back 5-6 years ago on BEE-L.

My good friend Dann Purvis was the first person to explain the concept years
ago before beekeepers ever heard of Purvis Brothers bee research & lab in
the Smokey mountains. I came on board fast.

To truly find the *varroa tolerant hive* you have to keep adding varroa load
until you find the bee which can take the added varroa pressure.

The old timers on BEE-L have heard me speak of added varroa pressure before. 
The only way to truly test a bee for varroa tolerance is to increase the 
varroa pressure similar to bring a race car engine up to speed needed in a 
race. At IDLE few race engines fail!

Many of us are sick and tired of published research about taking a certain
bee (usually promoted as varroa tolerant by the researcher) and start a nuc
and add 600 varroa mites. Leave sit in the research yard and keep counting
mites. Usually in a city setting without a major flow.

When you feed pollen patties and constant syrup like in California before 
almonds you are raising bees but also raising varroa. When you drop a hive 
into the Dakotas on the summer flow (when a barrel of honey can be made off 
a pallet of four hives) you are raising varroa


In my opinion those researchers realize by adding varroa pressure a
different result will be had. All the efforts of Dann and myself fell on 
deaf ears about using added varroa pressure when doing varroa tolerant bee 
testing.

No to me but  to others it appears those researchers are really doing 
serious research.

Dave M. does an interesting post . I do believe the varroa tolerant bee 
research is a bit farther along than the post indicates.

To treat or not to treat that is the question!

Consider:
Is it better to kill the blood sucking ticks on your dog or try to raise a 
dog which can be happy with 40 or 50 ticks sucking his blood?(spreading 
disease and virus).
How long will it take to breed the tick tolerant dog?
Why not simply kill the nasty little blood suckers?
Maybe Fido seems happy to tolerate the ticks but Fido gets around another 
tick infested dog and when he comes in the house Fido is loaded with ticks.
I think if Fido could talk Fido would say to his master:
" go get some chemical and kill these damn ticks!"

Ticks and varroa mites are similar in my book!

I do not like the idea of using a chemical insect repellent when we go into 
the tick and chigger infested bee yards but ticks carry lime disease and 
chiggers in certain areas make most of us grab for the chemical spray!

bob

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