Minnesota Hygienic Honey Bees are the result of the work of
Dr. Marla Spivak, and her team of the University of Minnesota. Minnesota
Hygienic Honey Bees are bred specifically to resist certain brood diseases,
such as American Foulbrood and Chalkbrood. The Minnesota Hygienic Honey Bee is
also bred to groom itself and other bees within the hive to detect Varroa
mites. In addition, they possess the ability to detect Varroa mites on or
within the honeycomb cells. However; they are still susceptible to other things
that threaten entire colonies, such as colony collapse disorder.