Hello Peter & All,

> You state that all the required traits are already exist in honey bees
> and only needs to be selected by judicious breeding. How do you support
> your comment?
> It is possible that genes are present in the pool - either in the States
> or elsewhere; and if this is the case then as you state, breeding in the
> correct direction will eventually allow for a resistant bee type.

I can't think of a trait which I need which is not present in the U.S. at
the present time.  Bees were available as early as 1953 which were resistant
to AFb. Treating with chemicals was the choice of most beekeepers so the
work of Park, Pellet, Paddock and Rothenbuhler went mostly without the
respect it deserved. Rothenbuhler isolated two genes which were responsible
for bees resistant to American foul brood.
Steve Tabor has bees in his apiary today which when inoculated with AFB will
clean the cells and not contract the disease (ABF vol. 141 no.8 pg 556)
We know bees bred resistant to tracheal mites are possible and have been
around for quite a while (Brother Adam -Buckfast bee)
The USDA in Baton Rouge is working on a Suppress Mite Reproduction bee. It
is to early now to say for sure  they are the solution we are looking for
but positive results are showing up  I looked at my first queens from Dr.
Harbo's yellow line today.  Step one in a long journey. It will be two years
before I will know for sure if they are truly varroa resistant. Other
beekeepers will make claims before they are sure but I will not for at least
two years.  If SMR bees live past the two year mark without chemical
treatment then I will post my opinion on the net.  Dr. Harbo *might* have
done in six years what Dr. Shiminuki and others guessed might take around
twenty years.
My point about new queens from outside the U.S. was in reference to bees  in
Germany you can stroke with bare fingers like pets or bees in Australia
which don't propolize everything up. Bees  from around the world from lines
which rarely swarm even when crowded. Other than the Buckfast semen &
Russian bees we have not had any legal importation's in over 70 years.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri