Native British bees, Apis mellifera mellifera. As Ruttner describes them: In behavior ... nervousness on the comb, easily released defense behavior, ample use of propolis, high rate of drifting. Typically, a flat seasonal brood rhythm is observed: Slow increase of brood quantity in spring, late flat peak, slow decline in autumn This is an adaptation to the heather nectar flow late in summer, found all along the Atlantic coast from Portugal to Norway ("Atlantic" type of brood rhythm in contrast to the "continental" type of A. m. carnica). Ecotypes. Differences in the seasonal brood rhythm were studied in various regions of France. Probably still other ecotypes could be detected, but by now mellifera is heavily hybridized or has even completely vanished in many countries, especially in Central Europe. In Tasmania (43° S) thousands of colonies of the imported black English bee live in trees and cliffs and they are found to be more "typical" than the present descendants of their common ancestors in Britain. Ruttner, F. "Biogeography and taxonomy of honeybees Springer." Berlin, Germany (1988). *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html