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




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