Contact me 11,
After all this,I guess the real answer is you are not going to buy them commercially.You will have to be satisfied with"alleged" or unproven strains. Not to say they don't exist,but they are not commercially available it seems.
I would look through the commercially available queens with the traits that appeal to what you desire and purchase one of those,unless you are able to get a split from someones bees that carry the trait you are looking for. Good Luck in finding what you want.
I agree with what you say. And I do actually think that many have better bees than others, and overall we have better bees than we did ten years ago.
My rub, is those who claim to have mite resistant bees. One hive, or a particular beekeeper having success on a individual local level, is a far cry from the mainstream bee industry being able to claim a strain of bees that are totally mite resistant. I think we have heard the term "Mite Resistant" from so many beekeepers, for so many reasons, that we are beginning to believe this to be fact. In fact, I hear there are some well documented reports proving mite resistant bees. ;) I have seen none.
I have beekeepers call me, and ask for "Mite resistant bees" all the time. They think if they get Russians, or from a "natural" beekeeper, or from someone who does not use chemicals, that they can simply order those same bees, drop them into a hive, and they will never have to worry about mites ever again. And that is absolutely wrong to perpetuate these type urban legend false claims that seem to have taken hold within the industry. It is not true that that can be accomplished at this time. But some are selling that concept.
I spend much time talking to beekeepers explaining what goes into keeping bees without chemicals. And letting them know first and right up front, that buying one persons bees or another person's bees, will not allow them to place those bees in a hive and expect to never have mite problems. I buy craploads of bees from other people. Some from this site, and I have never yet to see anyone have bees being totally and completely mite resistant.