Hello olda & All,

>The local bee research institute of the Russian Scientific Academy
(RSA) tested bees in Primorsk and find that Primorsk bees are not better
than other bee races and they are not able to survive varroa and
other diseases.

The above research was discouraging to Dr. Shiminuki (" Shim") & Rinderer
and pointed out in one conversation by myself. I saw a slight change of
expression in a normally stone poker "Shim" face. I knew I had hit a nerve
even if only slightly!

Dr. Shiminuki's reply was that after talking with the Primorsky beekeepers,
looking into hives and doing testing of their own they found the above RSA
research to be inaccurate.

So the import went on thanks to "Shim"( head of Beltsville bee lab)! The
Primorsky import was unpopular with U.S. beekeepers and deemed a big waste
of U.S. research dollars by many! "Shim" stayed the course like a good ship
captan despite commercial beekeeper comments! I felt "Shim" had forgot more
research information than I knew so I backed his decision !

I said on BEE-L and in my Russian articles in both the American Bee Journal
& Bee Culture I was very skeptical at the start. At the end of the first
season my opinion changed. The bees had performed as "Shim" had predicted!
The industry in the U.S. needs to thank "Shim" for being a good CSI and
following the evidence and not popular opinion!

Thanks to Olda for taking the time to provide excellent information for us!

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri

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