10-18-2021 Planning Commission Packet

Home Browse Search

Stocks or Lines of European Bees 0 Since the 1990's, bee researchers have imported or bred stocks of bees that demonstrate abilities to resist diseases and lower the level of the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor(varroa), in the colony (see Honey Bee Diseases and Pests manual). At the time of this writing (2020), these stocks are commercially available: • Hygienic Stock: Originally, these bees were bred from Italian-derived stock at the University of Minnesota and were called the MN Hygienic line. This line is no longer being maintained at UMN. Instead, hygienic stocks are being selected and maintained by beekeepers across the U.S. Bees with the hygienic trait can detect and remove diseased and some mite-infested brood from the nest, lowering the pathogen and pest load in the colony. • VSH, or Varroa Sensitive Hygiene: The USDA-ARS Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana bred this line of bees from a combination of Italian and Carniolan stocks. VSH bees are highly sensitive to the presence of varroa mites within worker brood cells and hygienically remove mite-infested brood from the nest. They are quite good at lowering the mite load within a colony. They have not been tested for their ability to reduce brood disease loads. • Russian bees: The USDA-ARS Bee Lab in Baton Rouge imported bees from Far East Russia (Primorsky Region) that are mostly Carniolan in origin. The bees in this region of Russian had been exposed to varroa mites for many years and had developed resistance to them. They were introduced, quarantined and tested by the Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, and are now maintained and sold by a consortium of beekeepers. Russian bees tend to be more defensive than other types of bees. • Mite Biters: Purdue University is breeding for bees that groom mites off other adult bees. The bees bite the mites, causing physical damage and resulting in a reduced mite population. Bee Sources 111 In your first years of beekeeping, we recommend you not worry about the race or stock of bees you use. Purchase what is available locally to you. It is important to first learn the life cycle of your colony, the ebb and flow of floral resources in your area, and the management strategies outlined in this book.As a beginner, the health and welfare of Words of your colony depends more on your management practices than it does on the race or Wisdom stock of bees. Once you have a good grasp of beekeeping, you will begin to appreciate the subtle differences among bee stocks and bred lines and can start experimenting with them. AFRICAN SUBSPECIES Apis mellifera scutellata (African bees) originated in southern Africa. In 1957, Brazilian researchers imported this subspecies to begin a breeding program with the hope of improving honey production in the tropics. The African honey bees proved highly adapted to tropical conditions and a wild population quickly developed and spread through South America, Central America, and Mexico, interbreeding with, and displacing, the European honey bees. They were introduced into parts of Florida inadvertently with cargo on ships. As of 2020, they are in parts of Texas,Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, California, Nevada, and Utah. We now call these bees "Africanized" honey bees to distinguish them from the bees native to Africa. Africanized honey bees are just honey bees but they are very good at defending their nests. This means that they tend to sting voraciously when the nest is disturbed. They can be managed with full, bee-proof protective gear, but they are dangerous to keep in cities and areas where there are penned animals. They have a very high tendency to swarm and issue many afterswarms. They also tend to abandon the nest (abscond) upon the slightest provocation. Africanized bees will not migrate to northern climates. They are a tropically-adapted bee and although they do produce honey, they are not adapted to store large amounts of honey in preparation for long winter months. 411 For more information on their characteristics, please refer to the books on Africanized bees listed in the Appendix: Beekeeping Information: (Mark Winston, 1992, Killer Bees, and Spivak et al. (eds.), 1991, The "African"Honey Bee). Beekeeping in Northern Climates 15