>  I don't think you
>should criticise
>southern bees.
>


Why not? You bring bees raised in the south up here to the north country,
and they don't winter very well. Tracheal mites get many of them. If the
southern breeders would select for tracheal resistance, then maybe I would
feel differently. But, when I see beekeepers spend their money on southern
packages...only to have them die from tracheal mites...again...and
again...I blame the bees.


Without southern bees, most northerners would not have bees,
period.
Lionel


Sad, but true. If I had my way, things would change. With a little
training, northern beekeepers would see just how easy it is to raise your
own replacement bees.

Mike