Hi Bob & all

Bob, thank you for yet another solid posting to the discussion group,
although a solid posting from you is probably the standard with no
exceptions allowed! With respect, I would just like to isolate one point
right now, and get to the others later. The point is that, if I understand it
correctly, AM scutellata aka AHB have been "outlawed" in the US
jurisdiction for one reason, and one reason only - and that is, simply,
potentially hugely defensive behaviour around and near their brood
nests.

I'd put it to you that natural gentle behaviour in scutellata is recessive.
I'd put it to you, further, that this recessive gene can be fixed by
selective (queen) breeding. If you can accept that "pedigreed"
scutellata can be well behaved, if not gentle, would you not then
accept that other negative traits of scutellata can be "neutralised?" If
that is possible, would it be further be possible to articulate a case to
"unban" scutellata in the continental US?

As a personal example, my five breeder queens and their thriving
colonies are kept within 10 to 20m (say, 30 to 60ft) of my front door (I
regard them as extremely valuable). My family, friends, dogs, parrots,
and other bee-strange things and entities have never been stung by
these bees. Buzzed a few times, yes, but never stung. And that
includes days when I disturb the bees to steal a frame or two for
grafting larvae. Beekeepers who come around to inspect the breeder
queens - and whatever - invariably comment that the bees are
abnormally well behaved. Compared to wild scuts, they most certainly
are. But that's how they've been bred - amongst other things, for more
gentle behaviour. The beekeeper who wants to order queens, and
who does, normally orders daughters from the "yellow" queen,
because her colour is outstandingly different from wild scutellata. That
her bees are the least "well behaved" (of the five breeder queens)
does not enter the equation. I suspect the reason is simply that AM
capensis is a dark, if not black bee, and that capensis is the 99%
largest fear of any scutellata beekeeper.

But I deviate - the fundamental question remains; viz., if beekeepers in
the continental US could accept the idea - and perhaps the fact of - a
gentle version of AM scutellata  - would such a version of the alleged
"killer bee" be acceptable? If indeed so, what kind of a pedigree would
esteemed beekeepers such as yourself require?

Barry Sergeant
Kyalami
South Africa