This message was originally submitted with the email address of a 
previous writer
quoted in plain text in an attribution line.
BEE-L LISTSERV hides emails from non-subscribers to protect members privacy
from 'bots.
Writers are requested to please omit attribution lines, at at minimum 
edit out any
email addresses or risk having their submission discarded without notice 
or comment.
--

(I don't think that anyone who manages bees by observation and response
will find them difficult, but those who manage by the calendar or
arbitrary rules will find them impossible.

Quite a bit is in the archives concerning the Russian bee for those 
interested.

If I was to do an article today on the Russian bee the article would be 
an honest Pro vs Cons type article.

Certainly the Russian import has been one the best projects the USDA-ARS 
has done.

As long as the beekeeper understands the Russian bee the bee certainly 
could exactly what many beekeepers want.

The problems in the Con section * in my opinion*are real.

Chasing a bee which does not need varroa control has been going on since 
varroa arrived. On a large scale I will share information not heard before.

Both the Russian bee and small cell has been tried on a large scale in 
two of the largest outfits in the U.S..
Several thousand hives involved.
Both outfits changed back to procedures used before.

  (I suspect that is one reason
they have not caught on better.

Keeping the line pure enough to keep the varroa tolerance is a fact hard 
to not consider .

To simplfy the two strain issue.
The Russian hives (personal experience) carry a high varroa load with 
few problems and also almost no (parasitc mite syndrome).

So the  Italian hives suffer from drifting drones and robbing bring up 
their varroa loads and the Russian hives suffer from Italian drones 
mating with Russian queens.

I never kept Russian hives in yards with Italian queens.

I tested the Yugo queens and found very varroa toerant but many 
beekeepers pinched Yugo queens heads as the beekeepers based the 
decision on experience with commercial queens.
The Yugo queens were similar to the Russian bee (traits)

but similar to carniolan *in my opinion* rather than Italian.

When I sell a truck or equipment I tell the buyer about problems.
Its not good business to find out later about known problems.

Many times buyers here what they want to hear instead of what the buyer 
is saying.

Bob

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html