> Just occured to me: are there any restrictions on knowingly keeping
> African bees in an apiary situation in the US?
You can't *knowingly* keep African bees in Missouri but who is looking. AHB
genetics are widespread in the U.S..
Australia for sure does not trust our fabis testing and has refused to
accept our DNA testing.
In U.S. African hybrid stock you mostly see only some of the running on
frames and swarming. On occasion you see extreme aggressive behavior and
then depopulating the hive makes the most sense. Most commercial beeks with
quite a bit of AHB genetics fight aggressive bees on a daily basis but are
able to depopulate a hive in a matter of minutes if needed. Most commercial
beeks make a higher number of splits than ever before due to the ever
increasing yearly losses..Kill most queens and requeen all hives on a every
year or every other year time table.
In Texas killing all queens yearly and requeening with your own cells of
known non AHB origin keeps the % of AHB at low levels. AHb has been a big
issue mostly with .
1. the public
2. researchers
3.hobby beekeepers.
Really not a big deal for commercial beeks. At a national convention a
survey was asked about what was the bigger concern for beeks varroa or AHB.
90% said varroa.
However *fresh off the boat scuttelata* like found in south Florida are very
different than the AHB hybrid which made its way north from Brazil.
bob
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