# Marina Meixner Presentation at Final 2021 EurBest Conference: Restructuring of the honey bee chain and varroa resistance breeding and selection



## James Lee (Apr 29, 2020)

Video: 03-MarinaMeixner-en from Daniel Schubart on Vimeo

Conclusions:

Natural Selected Populations in Some European Countries
Ongoing breeding programs in others
Still limited stock available for beekeepers
Several traits available, but differing levels of reliability
Genetic components, but also environmental influence
Resistance traits present in populations throughout Europe
Promotion of local selection efforts
Adaptation of mite management strategies
Selective breeding can result in varroa resistant bees that are commercially attractive


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Good post, @James Lee.

The thing I appreciated most about the presentation (beyond the detailed and systematic manner in which they conducted the EurBeST study in general) was the focus on a balanced selection program- the understanding that there are (and will likely continue to be) trade-offs in the tension between breeding for resistance and breeding for apicultural value. The section starting at approximately the 10:00 mark is especially insightful IMHO.


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## James Lee (Apr 29, 2020)

@Litsinger overall the conference cited "availability" as a primary impediment to propagation of resistance as well. Seemed to come up alot.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

No doubt- it is a problem here stateside too. It is often discussed on here (and I agree) that there is not really a market for resistant stock yet. Not that folks are not interested in it, but that there is a paucity of standardized data relative to the various stocks available that are marketed as resistant and a high price point relative to other stocks. So when one considers inconsistent benefits and a relatively high cost, it makes for a low value proposition. Hopefully this paradigm will change as more investment is made in developing commercially-viable resistant stocks (i.e. Hilo Bees) and more commercial operators are able to prove their worth in the market.


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