Project Number: 6413-21000-010-01
Project Type: Specific C/A

Start Date: Apr 16, 1999
End Date: Oct 01, 2003

Objective:
Honey bee stock from the Proymorsky region in far-eastern Russia has been demonstrated to have resistance to Varroa jacobsoni. This project will identify queen honey bees from the region that produce colonies that show this trait to a high degree and also are good to excellent honey producers. The queens will be imported to the United States to enhance these traits in an existing stock of Russian honey bees in the United States and to increase the genetic diversity of the stock.

Approach:
Collect queens from a variety of commercial and feral sources from throughout the Primorsky Territory into a common apiary. Conduct monthly evaluations to determine the level of resistance to Varroa jacobsoni and the honey production potential of the colonies produced by the queens. Import the queens that meet standards of resistance and production to the United States to be incorporated into a breeding program in order to produce a stock of bees with high levels of resistance and very good honey production that retains acceptable levels of genetic diversity.

Project Team

Rinderer, Thomas - Tom Sylvester, H - Allen Danka, Robert - Bob Harbo, John Evgueni Zakharov - Research Scientist (225)767-9280

Project Annual Reports

FY 2003   FY 2002   FY 2001   FY 2000   FY 1999

Related National Programs

Crop Production (305)