Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
fidence and integrity to the program. Testing for purity is ongoing by USDA so buyers
of Russian bees can be confident that they are buying certified Russians and not Rus-
sian hybrids. Moreover, selecting for desirable traits continues so the line is constantly
improving.
Russian honey bees are not perfect, but they manage to stay alive with little chemical
use in the hive. This was a quantum leap in improvement for beekeepers.
Benefits of Russian Honey Bees
Beekeepers using Russian honey bees should have to treat for mites fewer times each
season, and often no treatments at all are required.
They are very sensitive to the environment. When food is plentiful they build their
population rapidly and take advantage of the bounty. They are generally slower to build
their population in the spring than Italians or Carniolans; they wait for the first good
nectar flow. This is a trait that many beekeepers find difficult to work with because they
want their bees to build their populations early. Because of the rapid buildup that often
occurs later in the season, swarming can be an issue. Later in the season it is easier to
control swarming because queens are more readily available to requeen the colony and
the swarm, and the weather is generally more stable ensuring an easier time for both
colonies.
Defensiveness is sometimes an issue with these bees, although careful selection has
mostly eliminated this.
Tracheal mites are essentially nonexistent in Russian bees, and above-average hy-
gienic behavior keeps colonies clean and diseases at bay.
Russian bees cease rearing brood earlier in the fall than most bees because of their
environmental sensitivity. As a result they go into winter with fewer bees, and consume
less honey during the winter than almost any line of bees.
Even though they are slower to build in the spring, they can rely more on their stored
crop than having to collect the variable spring nectar or be fed.
Note on Russian Honey Bees
Several of these strains were brought to the United States and tested extensively
for the following litany of traits: production, gentleness, food consumption during
the winter, adaptation to moderate and subtropical climates, spring buildup, the
tendency to swarm, and of course their survival rate when exposed to pressure
from varroa infestations, plus others.
