Hello All,
Probabbly the best clues to the make up of the Russian bee can be found in
the March 2003 issue of Bee Culture magazine on page 8 and again on pg. 45.

For his monthly column Kim Flottum passed on from his notes the information
passed out at both the AHPA & ABF meetings concerning the Russian bee by
those working on the Russian project and commercial beekeepers using the
Russian bee.

From page 8 of the column:

Kim lists the list of bees which Ruttner said comprised the Russian be as:

Apis mellifera cecropia (southern greece)
A. m. macedonia (northern greece into U.S.S.R.)
A.m. sicula (Sicily)
A.m. ligustica (Italy)
A.m.carnica (Yugoslav area)

Quote from pg.45 by Kim Flottum:

"Take home message from all this? Russian bees show resistance to both
mites, PURE RUSSIAN THAT IS".

By the January 2003 national meetings the Russian hybrids had been in use
long enough for us to see being crossed with another bee caused big changes
in the ability of the bee to handle varroa and tracheal mites.

Dr. Tom Rinderer has told me personally from meetings and through direct
private email that the percent of Carniolan & Italian found in the samples
sent to Ruttner were so low the Russians imported could hardly be called
part Italian or Carniolan but you could say a small percent of Italian &
carniolan genes could be found .

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

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