Comparison of Russian and Italian honey bees

              A Comparison of
Russian and Italian
Honey Bees
American beekeepers have been using Italian honey bees ( Apis
mellifera ligustica) since they were first imported to the New World in
1859. The standard German honey bee ( A. m. mellifera), which had
been in America for more than 200 years, was by that time ill- tempered,
disease- ridden, and less suited for honey bee management. Conversely,
the Italian bees were and are excellent honey producers, show a gentle
temperament that makes them the most popular race of honey bee in
North America, have a moderately low tendency to swarm, and have a
bright yellow color that makes queens easy to find.
ut Italian honey bees are suscep-tible
to two deadly parasitic mites,
the tracheal mite ( Acarapis woodi) and
the varroa mite ( Varroa destructor),
which were introduced into the U. S. in
1984 and 1987, respectively. Colonies
contract these mites through equipment
sharing and overcrowding, and, once
infested, entire colonies can succumb
within one or two years. Beekeepers
have relied largely on pesticides to
control the mites, but many of these
chemicals can contaminate the honey
and beeswax in a hive. The mites also
are becoming increasingly resistant to
the pesticides, making the chemicals
less reliable and, eventually, ineffec-tive.
The high colony mortality that ac-companies
these two mites is a serious
concern of the bee industry today, and
various types of bees are continually
being examined with an eye toward
finding a hardy, productive stock that
can resist them.
B