Hi Bob Harrison:

Some remarks made by Mark Winston in his book Biology of the Honey Bee
(pages 127-128). I imagine you’ve seen them but others on the list might be
interested. The book was copyrighted 1987.

“One of the least-understood aspects of honey bee biology is the absence of
a high frequency of diploid egg production by workers among all races
except for A.m. capensis. Production of female brood by workers should be
highly favored by selection, since it would ensure colony survival
following queen loss, yet this trait is common only in capensis. Female egg
laying by workers has not spread from the Cape bee to adjacent populations
of A. m. scutellata, although extensive hybridization between the two races
appears to be occurring (Moritz and Kauhausen, 1984). It has been suggested
that the aggressive scutellata workers may kill hybrids which have laying
worker characteristics, since these workers appear more queenlike than
regular workers; this might explain the failure of parthenogenetic worker
production to spread beyond the Cape bee (Fletcher, personal
communication). After examining worker characteristics in hybrid zones
where capensis and scutellata overlap, Moritiz and Kauhausen (1984) have
concluded that capensis is in danger of extinction as a result of extensive
hybridization with scutellata and pressure from commercial beekeeping. Loss
of this unique race of bees would indeed by tragic, partly because of its
potential importance as a genetic reserve of unique traits, and partly
because we still do not understand why its characteristics have remained
isolated at the tip of South Africa.”

Things have changed some since then, haven’t they?

Regards,
Dick