Chris wrote

> Thinking about it: as in the USA the principal economic use of the 
> honeybee
> is pollination rather than honey production; and Am is an introduced 
> species
> anyway, why not go the whole hog and introduce Apis cerana which should do 
> as
> good a job at pollination and not be troubled by varroa? Labour would be
> saved  by not having to perform anti varroa tactics and the honey would be
> unpolluted  by beekeeper-applied chemicals.  How does Apis cerana get on 
> with Nosema
> cerana?

Are you sure that Apis cerana will do as good a job pollinating as Apis 
mellifera?  From my experience, you would not want to have Apis cerana in 
the USA. They swarm prolifically, they would not produce a lot of honey, 
they would become established in houses etc. and would they survive the 
winters in the USA?  Back to the pollinating, how would you establish them 
in boxes?  It would look funny carting around a lot of log hives.  If you 
could get them to stay in boxes, the numbers do not build up very well 
before they swarm.  In defense, I suppose you could establish a breeding 
program that is if they would survive the climate.

Not sure how they get on with Nosema ceranae.  I know that Thai sacbrood 
killed a lot at one stage.

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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