Hi Barry and Everyone,

Barry wrote in part:

"Bob, if I understand it from other discussions, you guys have
problems with varroa, big time, and other pests/diseases such as
SHB. I don't understand you classifying such bees as having the traits
you are "looking for." I'm not saying scuts are immune to all pests and
diseases, but they sure are tough bees. As you can see from my other
postings, I remain mystified by how scuts seem to laugh varroa mites
out of the hive."

There is one very fundamental difference with keeping bees in SA and the USA.  Here in the USA most of us are in a decidedly temperate climate not a tropical climate.  Scuts are very well adapted to a tropical climate but not a temperate climate.  You have said that the bees don't do well in cold.  Well, here in MN ( southern MN is latitude 45 N ) I suspect our springs and falls and even part of our summers might be considered as "cold" by your standards and we are talking about the warmer part of the year!  We need bees adapted to a temperate climate to survive here.  It has been said that in MN you might not be managing your bees for winter during the month of June but are managing for winter most of the rest of the year!  Now actually our management systems here really have to be designed to deal with winter in order to have colonies that are alive in the spring and ready to be split and managed for the honey flow in the summer.  Yes we can produce good honey crops but if you can't get the bees through winter in good shape you won't have much of a honey crop.  In short we are dealing with a very different environment which requires a very different bee.  Scuts do very well in the tropics our bees do better here in the northern temperate zone.  Our bees don't do well in the tropics either it is a matter of the environment you are dealing with as well as the bees.

FWIW

blane


******************************************
Blane White
MN Dept of Agriculture
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