Aaron Morris wrote:

> > ... I am curious as to what people's experiences have been with this
> genetic stock so far....
>
> Well, so far I haven't been able to get any.  Breeders are having a problem
> getting queen cells  accepted and virgins mated.  It appears that the
> Russian stock is "hesitant" to interact with non-Russian lineage or
> vice-versa.  Cell builders are not accepting Russian larvae and Russian
> virgins are reluctant to breed with non-Russians.
>  Hello Aaron and All,

Breeders are running 3 lines. The white and blue lines are having problems , but
the purple line seems to be working out OK. I will know shortly for myself.
 My first Russian queen lasted 2 weeks. The workers were not paying any
attention to her. I think it was a pheromone deficiency. I have been in contact
with Mark Winston about a possible pheromone problem. It will be hard to run all
the tests needed.
 My Russian queens are instrumentally inseminated , so they are full Russian.(
just a carni).
 I was able to get two larva to take from my first queen and have two virgin
queens at this point.
Today I put in my new Russian queen with all the tricks I can come up with at
this time. I will let you know in a couple of weeks how things are going.
 Best Regards
Roy Nettlebeck
Tahuya River Apiaries
Tahuya Wa. USA