I purchased 3 instrumentally inseminated  Russian queens from
California in the middle of May 2000.  They were introduced into very
small nucs and allowed to build up on their own with no assistance.

  The Russian – White line /  Italian cross was the meanest (not too
bad, still able to work without gloves) of the 3 Russians and this may
have been caused partly by a HIGH Varroa mite load which wasdiscovered
at the fall treatment.  These bees looked like normal yellow Italian
bees and for me they produced like Italian bees I have had in
the past. They love to walk on foundation, they barely drew out any have
made enough stores to get through the winter.
Report Card -  C minus.  Definitely not a breeder but maybe useful for
drone stock.

  The Russian Blue line / Carniolian cross was the winner as far as
production and
comb building was concerned.   5+ deep drawn frames pulled off and 10
more deep frames drawn and filled which is their winter food.  These
bees were more gentile than the Italian cross and the color was a
typical dark Carniolian.  There was a mite load this fall but it looked
to be about half of what was in the Italian cross colony.
Report Card – B+    Good enough to use as a breeder next year.

  The 100% Russian Purple line / White line did not produce as much as
the CN cross but quite a LOT  better than the Italian cross.  They were
tied for gentleness with
the CN cross but the thing that really impressed me was there were
hardly any Varroa mites falling during the fall treatment with Apistan.
This will be a breeder next year I feel.  Report card -  B+

  I grafted twice from 2 different Russian  queens.  I had a lot of
trouble with the first
graft .  Of the 18 very nice looking cells only 5 queens got mated and
started laying.  I had heard of all the mating problems but where I have
primarily CN stock and dark drones I thought I would have fewer
problems.  The weather was good and grafts before and after were right
in the 75 – 90%  success range which I normally get.  With the second
graft  I got 20 out of 23 laying. Hard to say what the problem was with
the first graft.

   This winter has been quite hard and I have lost a good number of
hives but all of the Russian stock looks very good.  I have been quite
impressed with what I have seen and will definitely be adding more of
the Russian stock this year.   They appear to be VERY thrifty with
winter stores.

Ken Eastman

Monaca, PA. (just north of Pittsburgh)