Waldemar wrote
>>also like another trait reported in some bees:  bees  pro-actively 
detecting and biting varroa mites.  Anybody know anyone  selling queens with this 
trait?
 
The answer : a Russian breeder
as per the following
 
From submission to bee-l by P. Borst last December discussing  Sustainability
 
This issue of sustainability has been brought up again and again.  What
is generally overlooked is that almost everybody is  for
sustainability; only a few of us go into an endeavor hoping to make  a
quick buck and get out before the whole thing collapses. We want  to
succeed, and into the foreseeable future. The future, of course,  is
anything but foreseeable, and hence the problem. However, it is  worth
examining what a sustainable beekeeping system would consist  of
(instead of pointing fingers at the bad guys). To start, one would
want  colonies that required less attention than they seem to do now.
For  example:

> Overall, Russian honey bees regulate the growth of varroa  populations. 
Russian honey bees are resource-responsive. Russian colonies build  large 
populations in spring when pollen becomes available. Consequently, their  honey 
production is comparable.   However, unlike Italian colonies  they either slow down 
or completely stop brood production in response to a lack  of nectar flow 
(Tubbs et al. 2003). This resource sensitivity may contribute to  Russian honey 
bees' varroa resistance.

> Also, Russian honey bees have  many more injured and dead mites on the 
bottom boards of their hives, suggesting  that they have a greater tendency to 
groom mites from their nests and nest mates  (Rinderer et al. 2001). In contrast, 
susceptible Italian bees continue with  their brood production under the same 
circumstances. Extended brood production  offers a constant supply of hosts 
for mite reproduction. Ritter (1984) reported  a 10-fold increase in mite 
population in southwestern Germany where the  brood-rearing period is longer than 
in southeastern France (as cited by Fries et  al. 1991).

From:
Growth of Varroa destructor Populations in Russian  Honey Bee Colonies
LILIA I. DE GUZMAN, THOMAS E. RINDERER, AND AMANDA M.  FRAKE
ANNALS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Vol. 100, no.  2





   

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