The parental stock was brought to a Louisiana barrier island and kept in isolation for eight months. Once daughters are reared and introduced, the original parental stock will be destroyed, providing at least one generation of bees as a safety buffer in case pests or diseases might be present. The Florida Arthropod and Arthropod Pathogen Introduction Committee of the Florida Division of Plant Industry has granted permission to introduce the offspring which will be tested in cooperation with Horace Bell Honey Co. in Deland, Florida. This stock was finally released in 1994 and so far has seen mixed results. The latter insect has a number of fans.
Beekeepers use it in many countries in Asia with success.
Beekeeping with cerana is less because of the inability to control swarming and absconding resulting in lower honey yields. Significant problems using cerana also continue to be European foulbrood susceptibility and lack of basic knowledge about keeping the bee. Perhaps the best of all worlds would be a mellifera- cerana mix of bees. This controversial possibility was reported by Dr. Eric Mussen in his latest From the UC Apiaries . The same Dr. Wongsiri mentioned above has apparently reported that mellifera colonies will accept frames of emerging cerana brood.