[GregB]

While searching for the Chinese-side information relevant to the "Russian" bees, I found various papers of interest. Certainly some of the Chinese bees are originating in Russia, like the "Chinese black bees".

It is a worthwhile topic to study.
Here are a couple links:

1) A descriptive study of the prevalence of parasites and pathogens in Chinese black honeybees
"............a population of pure breeding black honeybees, A. m. mellifera, displayed a high degree of resistance
to Varroa.........."

(PDF) A descriptive study of the prevalence of parasites and pathogens in Chinese black honeybees

PDF | The Chinese black honey bee is a distinct honey bee subspecies distributed in the Xinjiang, Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces of China. We... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

2) Current Status of the Beekeeping Industry in China
".....China is the largest producer of royal jelly in the world and satisfies nearly all
(95%) of the global demand........."

(PDF) Current Status of the Beekeeping Industry in China

PDF | China is a country with high honeybee diversity, long history of beekeeping and large amount of managed honeybee colonies. Based on the... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

USDA zones in China:

https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/50301000/Graphics/Climate_china.pdf

Provinces of China:

Provinces of China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Vance G]

And I am sure they are very meticulous to only mix the most sanitary rice syrup into what flows from their extractors and use only ag chemicals that can be chemically neurtralized in the resulting honey like substrance. We know the standards of the glorious Han.

 

[HaplozygousNut]

Cool. So the "new" farthest eastern subspecies from Western China are actually just a German Black bee (Amm) that is adapted to a new climate or region!

 

[GregB]

Cool. So the "new" farthest eastern subspecies from Western China are actually just a German Black bee (Amm) that is adapted to a new climate or region!

And I am pretty darn sure the Russian emigrants brought them over when then settled in what is now North-Western China.

Basically, they have two black bee populations - North-Eastern and North-Western.
The Western are the AMMs and should not be even there, if not for the emigrants.
The Eastern are pretty much the "Russian" mongrels that just flew across the border from Russia.

Otherwise the Italians bees are elsewhere in China.

 

[GregB]

And I am sure they are very meticulous to only mix the most sanitary rice syrup into what flows from their extractors and use only ag chemicals that can be chemically neurtralized in the resulting honey like substrance. We know the standards of the glorious Han.

Regardless, the papers are worthwhile reads.
What about wintering bees on 2-3 frames?

 

[max2]

And I am sure they are very meticulous to only mix the most sanitary rice syrup into what flows from their extractors and use only ag chemicals that can be chemically neurtralized in the resulting honey like substrance. We know the standards of the glorious Han.

Have you visited beekeeprs in China?
I have. I have also visited beekeeprs in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand .
No doubt some beekeers in those countries do the wrong thing as they do in the US, NZ and Oz.
If we keep an open mind we can indeed learn a lot from beekeepers in any country.
I found the beekeepers in China very open and interesting. Most kept only a few very basic hives and were as concerned about contaminants as you and I

 

[Carabexo5]

Very interesting to learn how different the bee culture in China is, compared to ours.

 

[Litsinger]

It is a worthwhile topic to study.

GregV:

Thank you for the good post. I am sorry I am just now seeing it, as I don't often think to visit this sub-forum- but I should.

It seems quite reasonable to me that there would be EHB's in China that have had a long exposure to varroa mites, especially when one considers their long association with Apis Cerana, as outlined in the Beekeeping Industry article.

One thing that gives me a bit of pause is the paucity of peer review or citations. It may reflect a Western bias, but having done business in China I am wary of taking any published information at face value without independent review.

Still, the idea of exploring adapted Western Honey Bee populations in China for varroa resistance seems like a good idea to me. Thanks again for the post.

Russ

 

[blackowl]

Interesting. China always has a different way of doing things.

 

[HaplozygousNut]

Is the Chinese black bee actually a valid subspecies? Not just a locally adapted population of A. m. mellifera?

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23802359.2019.1705927

 

[GregB]

Where is that line between a "valid subspecies" and a "locally adapted population"?

Are the Primorsky (Russian) bees a "valid subspecies" OR a "locally adapted population"?
In Russia, at least, they are proposed to be classified as a "primitive subspecies".

The Chinese black bee has a similar back story - they are imported bees to a place where "no bees have gone before". Old Believers brought along their Black bees when they ran from Russia into this no-man's desert amid the prosecutions.

A rhetorical question anyway.