Dear All

Bob Harrison comments:

> The Bee lab only found the capensis traits problem while doing
> research on pollination. The bee lab only looks at the things it is
> doing research on. We have only got Dee's opinion on whats going on in
> her bees. I respect her opinion but maybe we should take a peek. Mike
> thinks we should. In fact Mike says he is going to look at Dee's bees.
> At least beekeepers from South Africa think the situation needs
> looking into . Is the USDA *asleep at the wheel*?

In my initial post on the subject, I indicated that the planned research
was very much a joint affair, with the USDA (Tucson - Dr Hoffman) as
the lead figure. This collaboration stems from the Africanized bee
conference in Tucson in 2000, and from the USDA believing that our
(South African) experience with the Capensis Problem might help in
understanding what is happening in Arizona. But rest assured, it is a
USDA initiative, including the funding side of things.

regards

Mike Allsopp