Hello Dee & All,

Reply:
With one exception, European drones on SC and with flight
compatability; and timed right for mating/breeding, you'd
be surprised at what you can accomplish to the contrary of
this misconception.

Interesting hypothesis but only hypothesis until proven otherwise by
research. Very little is known about mating due to the 75 feet level  the
queen mates. Also the distance from the hive effects research. The virgin
normally flies past the drone DCA's of the apiary she comes from. Which
could also be a reason why AHB drones are successful in areas of AHB feral
colonies.

I think the statement about AHB drones being able to mate with EU virgins
better than EU drones seems supported by the fast nature AHB takes over an
area (like what happened in Arizona). However I find it hard to believe any
one race of drone is  better at mating than another but what our researchers
tell us about AHB drones.

However:

We know now AHB colonization  was speeded up by documented AHB hive
invasions and constant swarming. Swarms so small one hardly believes is a
swarm. Small swarms combine into larger swarms at times with several AHB
queens. Strange bees ( as compared to our bees)!

 Also:
pseudo queens & AHB laying workers could be a bigger factor than AHB drone
mating and would lead to the idea the AHB drone is successful more of the
time. Common sense tells me luck plays a big part (if you call giving up
your life for sex *lucky*).

The AHB in the southwest is very different in my opinion than those observed
in Florida in many ways. They seem to lack the little black "capensis like"
bees for one thing. I looked at many jars of samples and no little black
bees.

 The Florida AHB  are closer to what was seen in Brazil in the first 20
years after the release. Swarming reported is almost double reported in
literature. Very strange but would seem understandable is the actual
invasion came from scutellata swarms off ships from South Africa instead of
the spread from the entry into Hildago, Texas.

Also I hear quite a bit of talk of AHB being brought back from almonds. I do
not believe this is a big problem and I will explain why. When bees arrive
back in Missouri around March 22nd. drones are just emerging and are not
mature yet. A few might be. Hives which have went queenless are queenless.
We have never had a hot hive we feel came from an almond supercedure. This
could change as southern California becomes more colonized by AHB.

I do believe many AHB queens have been shipped from Texas and open mated by
commercial beekeepers wintering and raising queens in Texas but still has
not been a big problem which makes me wonder about the reported AHB drone
success story.


Bob

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