Hello Barry & All,
>Unlike capensis, the scut is incredibly adaptable and flexible,
> migrates without a second thought, is capable of drawing wax in no
> time, forming brood at a truly breathtaking pace, and hoarding huge
> amounts of honey at rates that almost defy gravity.
The AHB kept by the Dr. Taylor  in Mexico didn't demonstrate any of the
above. They sent out swarm after swarm and brood nests never got very large.
They stored very little honey and  ran on the frames They were very
aggressive. A close friend shot quite a bit of video in the week he spent
with Dr. Chip Taylor observing AHB. I have seen homemade video and talked
with many which have worked AHB. I personally never have worked AHB and
would like to make the point clear.
> So far as the overlapping areas of capensis and scut ranges are
> concerned, it should be remarked that a "wild" scut nest in such an
> area would be under very little threat from capensis.
I have been told that in the north of Africa the upper limit is in the 30 to
35 range. We believe the same range will apply in the U.S.. In the south of
Africa the extreme tip of the cape is outside this limit. I have been told
another bee is holding on down there and "scuts" are not making any inroads.
Is the information correct?

> 2. Can we assume that the genes for aggressiveness must be
> dominant and re-establish when the bees return to the wild? I wonder
> about this in light of the so-called "killer bee" phenomenon in the
> Americas.
My opinion that in areas of only AHB this would be the case because of
inbreeding. In areas of huge numbers of European hives I would expect what
many of us think we are seeing in Texas. Less aggressive AHB.
> 3. In our context, I think the point to make about capensis workers'
> thelytoky abilities is their readiness to lay. Thelytoky may be of great
> esoteric interest among other races of bees, but in this country
> capensis have caused untold economic damage.
In doing research for this post I found very little information on the
subject of Thelytoky in the beekeeping books of the U.S. A book which I
personally have read and reread and used for around 25 years does not use
the word Thelytoky once. The book talks about Parthenogenesis in the
discussion of drone and worker eggs  The only other reference is on page 121
quote:
Parthenogenesis is the development of an egg without fertilization("Queen
Rearing" Laidlaw & Eckert 1962).  The Hive and the honey Bee has only three
paragraphs on Thelytoky. In my opinion very little research has been done on
the subject by U.S. researchers. . Tucker (1958) seems to have done the most
research in the books I looked at. These are his conclusions:
Thelytoky occured most often among progeny of a virgin queen. Thelytoky can
be induced by causing cessation of ovipositon by a queen for a period by
confining her and then allowing her to lay again.
Maybe Barry can tell us other things he has learned about Parthenogenesis
and Thelytokym through his work with capensis?
> In practice, beekeepers here have found that no degree of
> management, manipulation, or any other technique or tactic is
> sufficient to prevent a commercial colony from being destroyed by
> capensis. It's not a question of "if" the colony will fall to capensis,
but a
> question of "when."
I was under the impression only weak hives were in danger. You said above
feral scuts had little to fear from capensis.
> Some beekeepers have gone the "permanent site" route, in order to
> reduce colony stress. Even then, the capensis problem remains,
> albeit somewhat diluted.
Besides the reduction in stress factor wouldn't the "permanent site" brood
nests be stronger than the migratory?
Years ago I would have only had a casual interest in capensis but after the
recent arrivals in The U.S. of tracheal mites, varroa and small hive beetle
I am going to try and learn as much as I can about the cape bee. Many
beekeepers thought my obsession with varroa before we had varroa in the U.S.
was a waste of time. When varroa arrived I was a popular beekeeper at
meetings.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri