From:    Dennis M Murrell <[log in to unmask]>

"An interesting note to the cell size controversy is that a varroa
tolerance stock has already been researched, documented and achieved in
the same geographic region where the cell size method for the control of
varroa originated.
...
"Both the cell size method and this recipe emphasize the need to
selectively use and propagate locally adapted stock shown to be varroa
tolerant through a forced natural selection."

comment:

Just what is the "locally adapted stock" they are using in the Tuscon
area? According to Dr. Erickson (in a personal communication) "feral"
hives in the Tuscon area are over 95% Africanized.

Eva Crane in her excellent book "Bees and Beekeeping" (1990), makes
the following points:

"Where colonies of both Africanized and European bees are present,
drones of the former drift into colonies of the latter, whereas
European drones rarely drift into Africanized colonies (Rinderer,
1985). ... In a 'mixed' area many more Africanized than European
drones are therefore present (in 'mixed' apiaries, 91% were
Africanized -- Rinderer, 1987)."

"To achieve isolation, a distance of 15 km has been quoted as safe,
but in Canada, Szabo (1986) found that even 20 km was not. "

"Where colonies of both Africanized and European bees are present, it
is very important to be able to distinguish between them. A simple
and rapid method ... is to make three measurements across the
parallel sides of 10 cells of natural worker comb; results (Rinderer,
1986) predict that an average of 49 mm [cell size 4.9 mm] or less
indicates comb built by Africanized honey bees, and of 52 mm [cell
size 5.2 mm] or more, by European bees. Identification is not
possible if the distance is 50 to 51 but Africanization might be
suspected."

So can the beekeepers in the Tuscon area be sure they are not using
Africanized bees (the "locally adapted stock") in their experiments?

(More detailed references available on request.)

Please note:
The opinions expressed here are mine alone and are not intended to
reflect Cornell University policy officially or unofficially. All
time and effort spent researching this topic was my own and not
underwritten by my employer. I grant permission to quote or reproduce
this document provide attribution is given as follows:

Peter Borst. Ithaca, NY. <[log in to unmask]>