>>That some commercial operations have failed to adapt a breeding
strategy to insure the genetic variation of their stock is a simply
matter of poor management.

This might be true, if we actually knew the extent of genetic
variation that is required to maintain healthy bees. On one end of the
scale you have strict line-breeding which leads to inbred bees and
colony failure due to lack of brood viability. Somewhere in the
middle, you have breeding from a large pool of regional bees, like one
would normally find in nature in a *geographically isolated region*.
At the other end, you would have bees that were taken from as many
world locations as possible to produce a completely new and
diversified type.

In my opinion, the focus on geographically adapted bees misses
entirely one key point: our bees are being challenged by a great deal
more than localized weather and floral sources. Our bees are being
challenged by new and different combinations of pests and pathogens
from *all over the world*.

What is needed is a better bee that can produce appropriate defenses
against a constantly changing situation. It simply won't do to suppose
that bees can adapt to one corner of the world and sit prettily. The
beekeeping environment is global, like it or not, and we should think
about a global bee: what would that bee be?

In the latest Apidologie, Sue Cobey writes:

> The ability to increase genetic diversity within a colony, beyond what is possible through natural mating, is an advantage of instrumental insemination. The impressive array of traits and flexibility in behavior patterns displayed by honey bees are due to their intra-colony genetic variability.

> Genetic diversity enhances colony fitness, enabling honey bees to exploit and survive in wide ecological ranges, survive extreme climatic conditions and resist pests and diseases. Several studies have shown that adaptability, productivity and survivability tend to be greater in out-crossed stocks.

from "Comparison studies of instrumentally inseminated and naturally
mated honey bee queens and factors affecting their performance" by
Susan W. Cobey in Apidologie Vol. 38 No. 4 (July-August 2007)

Peter Borst
Danby, NY  USA

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