Hi All

Yoon said....

> The very fact that  they supercede often, in and of itself, could be the
> Russian bees' long-learned strategy in combating the VD, creating gaps in
> brood-rearing cycle,

If you observe more closely, you will find that there is no gap and the
brood rearing rate actually increases as the newly mated queen lays in
conjunction with the older one for a period varying from a few days to
several years.

Supercedure is often denigrated in US circles and not seen often enough for
people to understand it.

The 'Russian' stocks exhibit supercedure in a marked degree as indeed do any
strains that survive under conditions that only allow drone congregation
area matings every five years or so.

Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding Website
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman

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