On Fri, 23 Feb 1996, gary oberton wrote: > I've been having more than my share of acarine related winter losses > the last 4 years . Way more. What I'm wondering is are there truly acarine > resistant queens out there? I bought queens from 4 sources last year > all of whom claimed at least some resistance. Initial spot checks on my > outdoor wintered colonies show up to 50% loss in some yards. With the boxes > still heavy. Lots of dead bees out front. Bees I sent to Calif. have fared much First, how sure are you that tracheal mites are the problem? Sending a sample of bees to a lab could help. I may be getting a bit repetitious but unless there is good control over the matings, resistance is unlikely. We have some good lines (tested) and there are several breeders in Ontario who have been breeding for HTM resistance. How resistant? We have stopped all chemical control measures and in our selected lines have seen very few mites in field tests. Mite levels in our colonies that have not been requeened with the new stock run from mild to severe. The program is only 4 yrs old so I think there will still be some HTM losses even if these queens are used. However, improvement is made with each generation. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb b b b Vince & Carole Coppola [log in to unmask] b b Coppola Apiaries, (716)965-2904 b b 10220 Bradigan Rd. b b Forestville, N.Y. 14062 b b b b Queens bred for tracheal mite resistance b b Honey , Pollination b b Western New York Beekeepers Association b b b bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb