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The issue of bee stock comes up often. There are many opinions on this subject from wide-ranging perspectives. Perhaps nothing gets the blood boiling more than purposeful introduction of stock. This has no doubt caused many problems. Most celebrated are the introduction of the Africanized honey bee into the Americas and worldwide spread of the Varroa bee mite.

There are large differences worldwide concerning bee stock introduction. These run the gamut from literally none to strong. The United States may be considered one of the latter with a ban on importation of adults, queens or other live material since 1922. Now that tracheal mites, Varroa and Africanized bees have been introduced, many believe the time has come to re-examine this law.

Queens and selecting tracheal mite-resistant stock, June 2000.

Stock importation from New Zealand; comments requested, December 1999.

Is AHB more hygienic?, September 1998.

 Hygienic behavior in honey bee stocks, September 1998.

Narrowing the Honey Bee Genetic Base: Risk Benefit to Stock Introduction, October 1997.

A re-examining of U.S. legislation on stock introduction, February 1997.

Discussion of conserving honey bee diversity, given Varroa mite predation, October 1996.

Further discussion on the honey bee as a domestic animal, July 1996.

Honey bee domestication and Varroa, April 1996.

Discussion of breeding programs coming of age, January 1995.

Resistant stock in disease and pest management, January 1993.

Complexities in queen breeding explained, September 1992.

Queen quality issues revisisted, February 1991.

Discussion of qeen quality in New Zealand and how it is judged, January 1991.

Issues concerning stock introduction into Florida, June 1990.

Discussion of costs and benefits in stock introduction, April 1989.

Marking queens using international colors, September 1988.

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© 1997 M.T. Sanford, "All Rights Reserved"