Hello Allen and All,
Allen wrote:
This characteristic -- if it works the way Lusbys claim it works for them --
has been part of a previous wish list discussed here on BEE-L.  The queens
from laying workers aspect is just a bonus -- sorta like life insurance for
a hive.
Capensis has been kept in SA by beekeepers for years in the Cape area. Although not a bee I would want for my operation I suppose if capensis is all you have got to work with then have at it. There can be no queen improvement program with capensis.
Allen wrote:
Of course I am speculating here a bit, as we love to do on BEE-L, and we all
know any such unusual bee behaviour could carry a downside. -- just consider
South African scutellata problems with cape bees.
At least Allen is keeping a level head (as usual). If you look at the cape bee(capensis) in South Africa you see as per Barry Seargent's posts that capensis WILL take over the hive of any other race of bees. Even scut hives!  Dr. Hoffman explained in great detail what they are seeing in Arizona. The capensis workers enter the hive during a honey flow. All hives will admit workers with pollen or nectar during a honey flow. The capensis workers start  laying their own eggs. The capensis pheromones are stronger I believe than European queens so the Existing queen is replaced with a capensis queen RAISED  by the capensis intercaste workers. After time the hive is capensis. This same scenario could play out all over the U.S.. 
The end result would be all hives would be capensis. A typically low honey production bee  which CANNOT be bred for traits which bee breeders breed for BECAUSE of the thelytoky trait.
Allen wrote:
Nonetheless, the risks are not proven here in America. 
You are right we have only got one state completely capensis now. Let us wait till all of California is capensis before deciding if capensis is a good or bad thing. 
 Dee and Ed seem to
be doing just fine lately, and that's thanks partly to the thelytoky, they
say.
I certainly wish Dee & Ed the best and  wish the USDA had looked at their hives earlier if capensis genes  are  the cause of the large amount of thelytoky going on in their bees. To sum things up beekeepers do keep capensis  bees  for honey production in South Africa.  Problem is there next door beekeeper has to keep capensis also because the cape bee will take over all over strains of bees. Do the Lusby's keep any other strains of bees other than the black super bee? If I was with the USDA I would bring in 20 hives of European bees into the Lusby's area and see how long it took for those hives to be taken over. by thelytoky bees
Dee and Ed (backed up by Allen) are saying the same thing Dr. Hoffman reported at the convention or am I missing something. 
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
"Thinking if the bee looks like a capensis and has all the characteristics of capensis it must be capensis"