>a bee that can survive long term with minimal human intervention. Whether this is feasible, I don't know.

> Pete, it worked before humans walked the surface of the Earth! And it is working worldwide anywhere that humans leave the bees alone.

What happened before humans, unfortunately, is no guarantee as to what will happen with 6-10 billion of us here. Insofar as bees going extinct, I don't worry that. There are plenty of populations that are in fact thriving. However, certain populations are already gone. 

Witness Ardrian Wenner's experiment on the island, those bees are gone. Also, Apis mellifera mellifera is gone from much of its original range. The fact that Marina Meixner is discussing preservation shows that survival of some strains and/or species is not assured, millions of years notwithstanding. 

plb

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