Huestis wrote:
>
>  With the spread of OTC resistant AFB it would seem wise to =
> use bees that aren't susceptible to AFB.

Hi Clayton,
I have done quite a bit of study on American Foul Brood thru the years.
Beekeeping was almost destroyed in the 1940's until sulfa drugs were
used. AFB is caused by a spore and those spores stay viable for many
years. All terramicin did was treat the bees themselves as a preventive.
Many attempts have been tried to eleminate spores from beekeeping
equipment with different rates of success. P.F.( Roy) Thurber spent many
years trying to use Ethylene oxide fumigation for AFB.
I guess the point i am trying to make Clayton is that AFB can be a huge
problem if left unchecked. I have not personally had AFB in my yards
since 1978 and then i burned all the equipment and buried everything.
End of problem. I have seen two yards of other large beekeepers bees in
Missouri with AFB this spring. Both treated with terramicin last fall.
They burned and buried over 200 frames and scorched equipment. In two
months they have seen no AFB.
The "old timers" said neglected not medicated hives made the disease
hard to control years ago. They found dead hives full of AFB sitting and
being robbed by treated colonies for the honey. Places with unregistered
colonies make those colonies hard to locate.
Resistent to AFB bees would eliminate the need maybe to treat a
antibiotic as a preventive but again I personally believe the true
answer lies in eleminating the spores.

As for the Minnesota hygenic queens i have heard only excellent reports
about them. I know of no commercial beekeepers using the queens yet.
I buy my queens out of California and my breeder has been working the
hygienic into her stock so maybe i have tried the Minnesota bloodline.
To be successful in Beekeeping (if you don't raise your own queens)you
need a dependable source of queens. I am slowly converting all my friend
over to her queens. Not to say there are not many reliable queen
breeders but we are very happy with the way her queens perform in our
area and climate.

 Bob Harrison
 Missouri,U.S.A.