Dean writes:
> so why don't we have an intensive program in the united states to select for mite resistant bees?  doesn't this sound like exactly what we need?

Dean,
Your question is headed in the right direction. But it is slightly off
the mark. The question should be: Why, after working on this for
almost twenty years, are we not farther along? I would be interesting
in discussing this, but you need to catch up on the background work.

"SMR -- This Honey of a Trait Protects Bees From Deadly Mites" was
published in the May 2004 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

> Aware of the need for healthy honey bee populations, John R. Harbo and Jeffrey W. Harris have spent almost a decade working to produce bees with built-in mite protection. Both are entomologists in ARS's Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "Finding natural resistance has been our goal ever since the mite moved into the global population of honey bees," says Harbo.

-- 
Peter L Borst
Danby, NY USA
42.35, -76.50
http://picasaweb.google.com/peterlborst

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