Mark G Spagnolo wrote:
>" I am disappointed because now only Hawaii can be considered "mite-free". =
>  If breeding is the answer to controlling mites, a mite-free environment =
>is crucial.  In light of the New Zealand experience, it is only a matter =
>of time before the mites invade Hawaii."


It seems to me that any breeding for resistance to the mite would have to
take place in the presence of the mite.  You need the mite to help you
decide which lines to select (or to act as the selective force by wiping
out the highly susceptible colonies).

Breeding for absolute resistance to any pest can often be quite problematic
(e.g., it can lead to counter resistance in the pest).  A more practical
approach is to breed genetic lines that are not highly susceptible to the
pests (pest population remains low) and can tolerate low levels of the pest
and still yield good amounts of your crop whether it's sweet corn or honey.

Breeding for this sort of tolerance of Varroa mites is a reality (see
Erickson et al. in American Bee Journal -Dec 1999 931-933 and ABJ 1998,
138:828-832; maybe try the ARS-bee lab (Tucson) website
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov ).  Since 1994, they have used selective
breeding to develop a population of colonies that have consistently low
levels of infestation.  They go on to say that this sort of breeding will
be an integral part of the Integrated Pest Mangaement (IPM) program they
are developing.  I had the opportunity to spend a few days at the bee lab
in Tucson and work a day with the commercial beekeeper who is also an
author on the papers.  I was very impressed by the their work, to the point
that I do not believe Varroa mites will be much of a problem in the long run.

It is worth noting that their work was conducted in SE Arizona, in the
heart of AHB country for two reasons:  1) they did not find that AHB's were
more resistant to Varroa and 2) they may be wearing more protective gear
but they're still keeping bees and extracting much honey in this area.

Jonathan Ruel
Plant-Insect Ecologist and Novice Beekeeper
Flagstaff, AZ USA