Hi TxBeeGuy and Everyone,
I've found a little from the Russian beekeeper concerning Primorsky bees in Russia. It's quoted below:
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From: Viacheslav Sheveliov (slavash@aha.ru)
Subject: Re: Russian bees
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
View: Complete Thread (19 articles) | Original Format
Date: 2001-12-11 13:18:37 PST
Hi!
Sorry for delayed response, I have many work.
Adam Finkelstein <adamf@panix3.panix.com.null> ÐÉÛÅÔ ×
ÓÏÏÂÝÅÎÉÉ:9ur3rs$9mq$1@panix3.panix.com...
> In article <9uoorp$1rfo$1@storm.comstar.ru>,
> Viacheslav Sheveliov <slavash@mail.ru> wrote:
> >Russian bee and lesser - Italian and Korean bees. Actually, this bee strain
> >is very heterogeneous.
>
> Most bee strains are. Bees are selected by man. Most honey bees
> are synanthropic--meaning they have changed over time due to direct
> interaction or association with humans.
May be, but Far Eastern bees was not included in state program of bee zoning
in Soviet times, so no breeding work have been done and was no breeding
apiaries offering genuine Far Eastern bees/queens. According to state zoning
program, central Russian strain was designed for Far East. Still there are
discussions about origin of Far Eastern bees. Most researchers agreed that
they are originated mostly from Ukrainian bees (Apis mellifera acervorum).
In Primorsky region in mid 19-th century was settled with many Ukrainians,
and still there are areas in Primorsky region populated mostly with
Ukrainians. So, among Far Eastern bees there are families most relative to
Ukrainian bees and ones relative to Russian bees (Apis mellifera mellifera).
Russian bees are very aggressive, Ukrainian are less, so bees described by
Steve seems are more relative to Russian bees or they are pure central
Russian bees.
OK, I stop my amateur reasoning and give citation from serious book (sorry
for my terrible English)
==============================
Bilash G.D., Krivtsov N.I. Breeding of honey bees. - Moscow, Agropromizdat,
1991 - 304 pp. ISBN 5-10-001701-5
Pages 83-85
-----------------
Far Eastern Bees. Those bees can and should be classified as primitive
strain, however officially they are not accepted as a strain, despite there
are no any serious reason against such decision. They populate territory of
Chitinsky, Amursky, Khabarovsky and Primorsky regions, where Far Eastern bee
formed as primitive strain from the end of 19-th century till present times
as result of excursive crosses of bees introduced by frontiersmen mostly of
Ukrainian strain, less - central Russian strain, lesser - yellow and gray
Caucasian strain and much lesser - Italian strain, and also as result of
natural and artificial selection. As result of heterogeneous origin Far
Eastern bees differ from other strains by greater amplitude of variability,
however according main characteristics quite answer to conditions of
primitive strain (array of specific features, their stabile inheritance from
generation to generation, great number of families, which exclude
probability of relative crosses in big scale and so on).
V.V. Stasevich (1913), known specialist of Far Eastern bee-keeping,
considered that Far Eastern bees are product of successful combination of
central Russian and Ukrainian bees in conditions of Primorsky region.
V. Grudnov (1913) reported, that in Amursky region settlers introduced
central Russian bees from Altay, from Perm and Voronezh regions, Ukrainian
bees - from Poltava region, and Caucasian bees (most probably, yellow
ones) - from northern Caucasus. Caucasian bees badly hibernated here, they
was very swarmed (up to 4 swarms, and sometimes 7-8 swarms per family during
summer), but was outstanding by honey production.
Prominent personality of Far Eastern bee-keeping, one of the founder of
Dalpcheltrest G.F. Muryi denoted, that in the Far East gray Caucasian bees
was also introduced as well as queens of Italian strain (included ones from
Australia).
Body of Far Eastern bees is bit smaller than body of central Russian bees.
By coloring they divided to pure gray and with yellow stripes on first 2-3
sternites. Size of proboscis is 6.1-6.8 mm. Weight of one day old bee is
near 105 mg, queen not laying eggs is 180, laying eggs queen is 230 mg. Bees
are moderately defensive (notably less defensive that central Russian bees),
more enterprising in finding of food sources and bit sooner switch from
worse to better nectar sources (less enterprising, than Caucasian bees).
Inclination to honey stealing is moderate. Propolising of hives is light.
Cell capping is different - from white through several transitional forms to
dark. Cases of "quiet" changing or coexistence of queens are very rarely
observed. Well resist to wax moth.
Light honey production don't limit, but increase young production. At period
of main honey productions bees store honey uniformly - in brood part and in
supers.
Far Eastern bees are good in hibernating, resistant to Nosema apis,
toxicosis from non-floral honey _(what is right English terminology?)_,
European foulbrood, but slightly cedes in those characteristics to central
Russian bees, and exceed bees of southern strains. Spring development of
families begins relatively early and proceeds intensively, however egg
production of queens is not high (in the range of 1100-1600 eggs per day,
rarely it is 1700-1800).
A.P. Volosevich showed, that number of egg tubes and productivity of
Ukrainian queens was slightly higher (6.3 and 8.4% respectively), than ones
of Far Eastern queens. Supposedly, that decreasing of those characteristics
of Far Eastern bees is explained by influence of Caucasian strain (both gray
and yellow ones), which productivity remarkably low comparing to central
Russian and Ukrainian bees. Probably, thus in Far East splits are widely
used, without them over there almost impossible to get big bee families by
the time of main honey production.
Far Eastern bees quite prune to swarming, but remarkably less than central
Russian bees. Before main honey production time up to 50% of families can be
in swarm conditions, best way to reduce it is forming of splits. Number of
queen cells is differ from 4 to 150, as a rule, gray bees builds less queen
cells and less prune to swarming than yellow ones.
Far Eastern bees are outstanding in seldom capability to very effectively
use strong, exuberant nectar production from linden: accidents described,
when family brings during a daytime up to 30-32 kg of nectar, and collects
during season (together with ÏÔ×ÏÄÏË) up to 300 kg of honey. Wax
productivity of Far Eastern bees is slightly less, than wax productivity of
central Russian and remarkably higher than wax productivity of Caucasian
bees.
Based on multiannual experiments (V.S. Koptev) was established, that Far
Eastern bees and their F1 crosses in West Siberian conditions and in
conditions of some European regions of Russia collected more honey, than
endogenous central Russian bees; in conditions of Adygea - more, than
endogenous Kuban bees (S.V. Aref'ev); in Ukraine - more, than families of
Ukrainian bees, however ceded them in quantity of young production (A.P.
Volosevich).
Those bees are rich heterogeneous material for further effective breeding
for productivity and other qualities. Long ago have been raised a question
about granting them official status of primitive strain. Origin and complex
of characteristics, characterizing this group of bees, occupying territory
and number of families (several hundreds of thousands), more than earnestly
says for such decision. Motivating, according which it was not done earlier
and which consists in argument that Far Eastern bees are nothing more than
pure descendants of Ukrainian bees, cant stands against any critics.
==============================