J. Waggle wrote:

>These bees are best described as Italian.  

I would suggest that none of the bees in the United States are "best
described as Italian." We haven't imported bees from Italy in almost a
hundred years. Color has been artificially enhanced by selection so that
yellowish bees are yellower and black bees are blacker than they would be,
even in their native ranges. (See my article in the American Bee Journal on
honey bee color.)

By stopping this color selection process, bees tend toward a muddy brown
that  accurately reflects the mixed parentage of the bees. I suggest that
the honey bees of the US be called "honey bees of the US" with the exception
of the Russian types which are a recent import, and perhaps some of the
strains that have been isolated by instrumental insemination.

pb

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