Survivor Bees Around The World; Why I No Longer Keep Bees

摘要

"I mentioned the fact that in Iraq the ultimate survivor bees do exist, but it would take time and patience to find and propagate them." In my October 2004 article on mite tolerance in honey bees, I mentioned the July 2004 article by Dr. Tom Seeley, who is increasingly finding mite tolerant bees in Cornell University's Arnot Forest. At that time, I said, "The fact that honey bees can take care of themselves in spite of being subjected to the ravages of an introduced, exotic species, the external (outside) parasitic mite Varroa destructor, which has been responsible for the death of so many managed colonies, should astonish no one. This has already been seen in bee populations in the wilds of Western Russia near Vladivostok (Primorski stock) and reported in Serbia with Carniolan bees (Apis mellifera carnica), giving rise to "Yugo" stock. Hints of it have shown up elsewhere in Europe, which has a much longer history of mite infestation than the Americas. Finally, it is taken for granted in Brazil, where a huge beekeeping industry is beginning to flourish in spite of universal challenge by these mites."