Aaron Morris wrote:
>

> Now, this talk of breeding varroa resistent bees is very promising.  I
> applaud the HIP program, its organizer and participants.

> At EAS in July, Steve Tabor mentioned a bee breeder in Germany who is
> currently raising bees that aggressively attack varroa mites.
 Hello all,   Was the name of the gentleman Alois Wallner? We had a
thread a few years ago about his work. Sue Colby did some posting about
his work. He did 12 generations with no loss of the gene or genes that
were responsible for the behavior.
 Nature is wonderful, you seek and you shall find. Our problem is
patience and the fact that we can't wait for the bees to come back after
we lose 99% of them.But we can support those that are doing the seeking.
Through breeding we can get back to clean hives and healthy bees.


> Untimately I believe the best defense for varroa mites will come from
> bee breeders.
>
> Aaron Morris - thinking better bees through better breeding!

 Each beekeeper can do a few things to help him or herself. Don't keep
bees that do not keep a clean hive.I would suggest reading, Breeding
Super Bees , by Steve Taber. Its not a deep book in genetics, but it
does explain some possibilities.Hygienic behavior is a must.We are not
that far away, but bee breeding takes time and a lot of stock .
Inbreeding is a real problem. Thanks to those that are jumping through
hoops for all of us.
Best Regards
 Roy Nettlebeck