Allen, as is often the case, introduced some sanity into an often irrational and ill-informed debate when he said..... "Australia is a huge country with many regions, so I would hesitate to say that a few samples could represent the entire country or that generalisations are possible." It amazes me that Brian seems to consider that all bees in Australia have no resistance to anything and that Mike and Yoon believe the few which are imported to the US would have such an impact on the breeding selection work being done there. I'm sure that many of your notable queen breeders would be very insulted by that view.
Whilst Bob has explained the sourcing of the genetics in the Browns bees, through the Eastern Creek Quarantine Facility, it needs to be remembered that this facility is available to all beekeepers in eastern Australia and is also used by the other queen and package bee shippers to the US. Furthermore those shippers are also very aware of their reputation, and thus business success, being contingent upon supplying product of satisfactory standard. I am not here to blow anyone else's trumpet, but I can assure you that Terry Brown does not stand alone in addressing genetic quality issues in bee exports from Oz!
Here in Western Australia we do not have the luxury of access to genetic importations, either as eggs via the Eastern Creek facility or via semen direct into WA. So we have had to do the hard yards of stock selection ourselves. Its been ongoing for close on 30 years now. In more recent times hygienic behaviour has been to the forefront in that work, very much influenced and encouraged by both Marla Spivak and Sue Cobey. The results have been extremely good. Allen may have received AFB susceptible stock from Oz in years gone by, as indeed did I. But my own breeding selection for hygienics and propagation using instrumental insemination has ended that for me, thankfully. But then of course, we (meaning me) send our export packages elsewhere, not to the US.
Brian, when you speak of Australian stock as having no resistance, are you speaking from experience or simply repeating the views of others which may have been received 3rd hand anyway? And quite apart from querying Bob and Dan Purvis about Hygienic testing on imported stocks, have you done this on your own stocks?
PeterD
Western Australia
(not in the Hungry Jacks car park, but at home in the office!)
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