>Many believe (and I hear on this list all the time)
that the 'wild bees' are recovering in the USA due to
the domestic (SMR, hygienic etc.

I certainly believe the above!

Our researchers told us years ago that when a varroa tolerant bee was made
available ( like over five years ago  with the Russian, hygienic and SMR
stock) that many beekeepers would start claiming success for snake oil
treatments instead of giving the real reason credit.

I also would add Russian to Joe's above list (maybe should be first on the
list)!

 Joe is always dropping Kirk Webster's name so will give a few  quotes from
Kirk from his March 2005 Bee Culture article.

"Though we still lose a few bees, we don't treat-and RUSSIANS are why"
(pg.3).

"These Russian bees are a Godsend" (pg.33)

"for me the Russian bees imported and further developed by Tom Rinderer have
been by far the most helpful" (pg.33)

"Once the Russian stock became available, and the queens were mated with
proven drone mothers, I was able to wean this part of the apiary off of all
treatments in just ONE generation" (pg.33)

Joe said:
>Some breeders produce very good stock,
but high percentage of locally bred wild mongrels are
known to out perform them.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the above Joe!

 I have had plenty of feral swarms & swarms from buildings. Mine we were
average compared to my production hives except when they came from my own
hives.

I buy my *production queens* from breeder queens selected the year before as
the best honey producers , temperament and brood viability from 4-5000
production hives. I had one of those queens produce a higher amount of honey
than the worlds record four years ago.. My partner can verify what I say but
without documentation from the start the record remains.

If  Joe is talking honey production I will say I have never had a Russian,
NWC, Purvis Brothers or Marla Spivak queens bees produce  honey on the level
of breeder queens selected as the best honey producer in 4-5000 hives. Maybe
others have but I have not! I have used over a 100 queens from each of the
above and in some cases hundreds.

The above might help Tom R., Sue Cobey, Dann Purvis & Marla understand why
many commercial beekeepers  in the U.S. still prefer the Italian bee
selected in the old Homer park tradition.  Homer selected his breeder queens
from either 4,000 hives in California or from the 4,000 hives he ran in
Canada.

Selection for hygienic behavior, varroa tolerance , wintering and other
traits the above breeders select for is not done with the  method I
describe.




Bob

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