Bob Harrison <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Bob's SMR lingering questions: > >> Isis post: >> I have seen "pure" SMR lines that were so weak they >> couldn't build up past >> three or four combs. > Is the SMR trait a dead end street? > > Bob Response: I recieved five SMR queens from the Baton Rouge Bee Lab as part of an ongoing study into the viability and usability of several strains of bees as chemical/manipulation free colonies able to handle tracheal mites and varroa mites on their own. I installed these queens in mid April and was fortunate to have all five accepted and laying. At this time, beginning November, I still have four of the queens in hives. One hive became a deadout when no matter what methods I used the queen was unable to maintain colony strength. One other hive is weak at this point and will require feeding to carry through the winter. All five colonies built up colony strength very rapidly at initial installation time. Each colony was started with splits containing two frames of capped brood and adhering bees, two frames of food stores (honey and pollen) and two frames of drawn comb. The remaining four frames had foundation only. They were fed sugar syrup to assist in the buildup of the colonies. As a result of my observations I would have to say that three of the five colonies were very vigorous and I observed no abnormal brood patterns. The one dead out just refused to respond to treatments to build up the strength and I suspect a poorly mated queen. The weak hive may be a result of a poorly laying queen. I have been restricted in my operations on the test yard due to a medical condition so cannot honestly report what the problem was that caused the hive's weakness. In conclusion, I would say that when the queens are laying well, they produced a very strong colony that did well in honey production for the first year. I have just sent in samples to be tested for the presence of varroa and still have to get samples of older bees to send in for testing of tracheal mites. Looking at the bees on the comb though, I saw no evidence of varroa on any of the bees. Mike Located 1/2 way between Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---