Hello Barry & All,
I thank Barry for the excellent post. Although not a expert on AHB and not
on a AHB experience level with Barry I am going to ask a few questions and
make a few comments.

> This is a short-ish story for those who always believed it may be
> possible to breed (or at least heavily dilute) all the undesirable
> characteristics out of the African honeybee, and reinforce its best
> characteristics.
I had my doubts until I read and reread the work of Dr. Kerr. I believe Dr.
Kerr was always trying to correct the problems his release caused. He will
go down in my opinion as one of the most talented bee researchers in
history.
> In attempting to answer questions raised by Bob Harrison, et al, I've
> decided to try and run a summarised sub headed list of what's going
> on with AM scutellata ("scuts," as we call them) in one of its home
> countries.
I believe we are on *the same page*. You with the actual *hands on
experence* and me with reading every article about AHb I could get my hands
on. Please correct me if I am not correct as I am trying to learn from you.
> There is, allegedly, > another race in the north-east near Mozambique.
Are you talking about a classification other than the 12 African races
described by Ruttner (1975)
Scuts are "yellow"  bees and capensis "black."
What are the color of your ApiCrown queens?

> Scut colonies are killed wholesale by capensis.
 In essence, all you need is a single
> capensis worker to get into a scut hive - rather like a robber bee. Given
> a chance (mainly stress, e.g., a power flow, or migration), this
> capensis worker dons the mantle of a queen.
Does the Cape bee worker carry similar pheremones to a scut queen? A
European queen?
. Of  course, capensis is famous in the bee world for being the only race in
> the world in which workers can lay eggs that can be grown into  queens

I have read the above is true but if queens are raised from fertile eggs how
does the Cape bee produce a fertile egg without mating? From laying workers
we know all mellifera can lay eggs but not fertile. We also know any
fertilized egg if cared for and fed properly can be made into a queen. Are
Cape bee workers feeding larger amounts of Royal jelly to their brood to
make  the egg laying area different than the other races. Even so how are
the eggs made fertile?
Could it not be possible for cape bees to have higher developed reproduction
areas similar to a queen and actually breed with drones. Has this  theory
ever been explored? I always look for the simple answer first.
> It's doubtful South Africa has any pure scuts left; most colonies are
> scut-capensis hybrids
What is their color ? Is the color still a sign of the pure scut as it was
when Lepeletier (1836) named them?
..
> Anyhow, a wild scut colony is truly a tough thing to deal with. Open up
> one of these hives and all the smoke in the world often seems to just
> make the bees more angry.  Without protection, one of these colonies
> will kill you.  However, also bear in mind that wild scuts are erratic in
> temperament. You may be working a hive and finding that the bees
> are quite calm. Then, for no reason, they break into a wild attacking
> frenzy in a split-second. You pick this up in the bees' sound, and
> seconds later you can feel the venom spitting onto your face where
> bees have stung through the veil.
 These are the A. mellifera s. my fellow beekeeper have seen on trips to
Brazil and Mexico.  Dr. Kerr was able to completely remove all aggression
from the scut by instrumental insemination and inbreeding. The fear was
always that once open mating was allowed the aggression would return.
> You must never show these bees you are scared, and never feel fear;
> they can smell fear.
 I would say the statement is true of all bees but I am sure many on the
list are going to disagree with us both.
> On some flows, the bees are very well behaved and not interested in
> stinging. But a few weeks later when the flow has dried up these bees
> will kill you.
Again the above is true with all bees except for the killing part with other
races. All bees in hive so defence goes up.
> A hive with capensis is not aggressive; when you open the lid, there is
> a dead sound. It seems that the bees already know it's tickets; there's
> nothing worth fighting about.
I find it curious they have survived the test of time? I also wonder why the
Cape bee brought into Brazil by Dr. Kerr did not survive in its pure state?
>An interesting behavioural characteristic that has arisen as an aside
> is that ApiCrown workers are very highly attached to their queen;
> almost "affectionate."
I believe this is simply because of the higher pheromone level. I see the
above behavior by workers with young queen more so than older queens. I
asked the question at a bee breeders meeting once if higher levels of
pheromones was a trait bee breeders bred for. The answer was no because the
average production queen was replaced before pheromone levels normally
dropped in the U.S. The answer was most queens produce a enough pheromones
to keep from being superceded for up to three years. My friend Murray from
Scotland reports many queens laying into and through the third year. All his
queens are marked.
> The genetic markers in these instrumentally inseminated queens are
> such that only daughters of these queens will be released. These
> daughters will be open mated and laying eggs before shipping.
Do  your open mating areas consist of drone colonies of hives headed by I I
queens similar to the breeder queens?
> The original rootstock of these ApiCrown queens can be traced back
> to "normal" wild scuts.
Dr. Kerr said the bad traits of scuts could be bred out but mainly by
inbreding and I I.  You have taken longer but if I am understanding you
correctly you have eliminated the bad traits by selection only. Or selection
and inbreeding?

> We believe (in fact, already know) that these ApiCrown queens will
> produce colonies highly suited to commercial honey production. The
> bees are docile primarily in order to reduce stress - and second, to be
> kind to the beekeeper. When you lift a comb covered with bees from
> one of these hives, the bees remain totally calm and just carry on
> doing their normal work.
 > Any time of day or night, you can pick one of these hives up and walk
> off with it, making even long-distance migration a pushover. If you
> stand and block the hive entrance level, the bees collect in a small
> swarm and wait for you to move. If you really want, you can open a hive
> lid and work the bees without using smoke. You may have a few
> dozen, at the most, buzzing around your head.
 Barry you *almost* make me want to order a few queens. My bees don't always
behave. Surely you see a supercedure with a attitude once in a while?
Be honest!
 The "best of" capensis is pretty much limited to a single
> factor: stronger queen phenorome levels.
Dr. kerr could have isolated this gene and put the trait in another bee. His
research might prove helpful. Steve Tabor is a walking encyclopedia of Dr.
Kerr's work and I believe would talk to you if contacted. Dr. Kerr and Steve
were friends besides doing similar research. My friend and fellow beekeeper
which worked with Steve at Bato Rouge in 1967 said Dr.Kerr's work was Steve
Tabor's favorite subject.

> The scut is probably the toughest bee in the world, coping admirably
> with new diseases. Its downfall, ironically, has proved to be another
> bee.
In my opinion pure scuts in the U.S. will be rare indeed.
 The current ApiCrown breeder queens have 18
> generations behind them, and seven years of laboratory work and
> time-consuming field testing.
How much of the eighteen generations is inbreeding back to drones from the
same hive?
 this is an open invitation to come and visit with these ApiCrown
> queens and their workers and drones. Just keep in touch by e-mail.
> Remember: veils and gloves are not required!
These ApiCrown queens sound better than my bees.
Thanks for the post Barry!
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri
Ps. Dietz (1986) published a potential distribution map of AHb in the U.S..
I disagreed at the time (as did others) and disagree today. My reasons then
were the same as Barry's about the AHb distribution in Africa. The map can
be found on page 46 of the new *Hive and Honey Bee* and many other
publications. Tooting my horn fifteen years later!