>Does anyone have any information about Cordovan bees?
 
Joe,
 
A Cordovan bee is a bee with a gene mutation named "Cordovan" (cd).  This
is a recessive gene that won't let the express any black body color
including the legs and antenna.  Since it is recessive the bee has to
receive two copies of the cd gene one from the queen bee (its mother), and
one from the drone bee (its father).  The color of a bee that is homozygous
for the cd gene (having two copies of the gene) is a light reddish color in
Italians (pretty) and a deep dark purple in carniolans (very pretty).
 
The cd gene has been used by many queen breeders as a marker, including the
Starlines, so it can be found in many different stocks.  Koehnens have a
lot of the cd gene mixed into their Italian bees and I have carniolans with
the cd genes.
 
You should try some cd bees the nice to look at, and make a great
conversation piece with other beekeepers.
 
Garrett