I was reading about an AFB outbreak in Australia
http://www.beekeeping.co.nz/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1889
and wondering.

Now that Australian bees are being imported in to the USA, with likelihood
of vastly increasing imports in the coming years, how good are these bees in
terms of hygienic behaviour and other AFB-resisting factors?

I ask this because I have never heard anything about HYG testing in Aus,
although I've asked, and the fact that the incidence of AFB is maintained at
very low levels there could result in no incentive to breed in that
direction.

I also write from my own experience with many different importations from
several suppliers Australia over the years.  Although I have found the bees
I have purchased from Australia to be productive and good at overwintering,
I have also found some of them (the majority) to be *very* susceptible to
chalkbrood.  Moreover, we recently discovered a touch of AFB in some of my
hives, and, guess what?  They were the Australian package bee group, not the
Hawaiian group.  I let it go a bit to see if they cleaned it up.  They
definitely did not.

What I'm thinking is that North American breeders and Hawaiians have been
tending to watch for HYG traits and that the entire bee populations have
trended towards less susceptibility, but, perhaps the Auzzies have had no
such tendency.

For some reason, we hear little here on BEE-L from Aus, except that
occasionally, we are directed to some really excellent research or other
information from down there.

What do list members know about HYG and Australian bees?  Are US beekeepers
going to get a big surprise?

allen

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---