>  Apart from one or two
> enlightened individuals all we are asked for are queens, there is
> little or no mention of T-mite resistance, and that was the jist of
> my first post.
>          I would have thought with the announcement of T-mite
>          resistant
> stock that      beekeepers would be clamouring for them. But quite
> the reverse.
>         It still makes sense both econonmically and physically,
>         re-queen
> with resistant stock, and save on the time effort and cost of
> chemical treatments. In the UK where T-mite first came from, there
> is no treatment necessary or available for T-mites!  Is this not the
> aim of bee keepers in North America?
 
You have a good point here, David.
 
I suspect that the reasons are that
 
1.   Mite resistance is fairly new in the minds of beekeepers and the
various claims *seem* contradictory and dubious as yet.
 
2.  People suspect that even supposedly mite resistant queens will
not be uniformly mite proof, and that treatment may be needed anyhow.
 Mite resistance is not something you can see like colour.  Colour --
disguised as a claim of racial origin -- is still the number one
selection criterion (as silly as it may seem).
 
3.  Beekeepers tend to stick to suppliers they know unless given good
reasons to change.  They also evaluate prospective suppliers based on
their personal experience with them and their confidence in their
ability meet their claims.
 
4.  People suspect that bees selected for mite resistance may have
lost other qualities -- such as the ability to make huge crops.
 
5.  Mite conscious buyers may be reluctant to order from a
supplier that apparently has both mites in his environment, unless
they have them both themselves.   In that case, go figure, huh?
 
Having said that, I have tried to get bees that are resistant to TM
-- the only mite we have here so far.  I also avoid buying from
areas near or in known varroa finds -- including Southern Ontario.
 
I did talk to a well known Buckfast breeder in Southern Ont. about
exactly this -- mite resistance, and obtaining a large amount of
Buckfast stock  -- this spring, but concluded that I did not wish to
purchase even cells from Ontario, since it is now reputedly widely
varroa infested. More the pity.
 
Since I had -- for various reasons -- to purchase many bees this
spring in a complete turnaround from my previous practice -- I wound
up buying non  mite resistant stock from known safe sources as well
as the limited amount I could get from safe sources.
 
At any rate, I agree with you David.  It makes sense to get stock
that is even partly immune to the ravages of any disease or pest.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>