On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:49:40 -0500, Scot Mc Pherson
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>The message was related to how a wiping out of ferals was a negative

Scot, 
I am sorry if I took your words out of context. As they say, I tuned in
late. On the other hand, the whole feral thing happens to be a pet peeve of
mine.

1. I don't believe bees in the woods are properly "feral". Mostly, they are
escaped swarms, which are no different from the hives they came from. Bees
aren't really domesticated, so they don't have some domesticated state from
which they might revert to a wilder form. They basically ARE wild; they
still swarm, sting, etc. 

2. I don't believe that feral bees are better than bred bees. The may be
more healthy than inbred bees, like a pound puppy may be more healthy than a
highly inbred german shepherd, for example. But this is a problem of
breeding for the wrong traits. Many animals have been bred for various
reasons not related to health, and the negative consequences are widely
known. However, one should be able to breed more healthy animals that
require fewer treatments, if that is what one is after.

3. If you really want "feral" style bees, it is a simple matter to stop
buying queens and let the bees supersede. You can raise queens from the
ugliest, rudest bees and pride yourself in having mongrels. Not what I would
do but there are many paths to perfection. 

4. In many states feral bees are or will be outlawed, for the simple reason
that they have the potential to be africanized bees. Years ago it laws were
passed outlawing the keeping of bees in hives without frames, for the simple
reason that they cannot be easily examined. By the same logic, it is
probably a good thing to not have the woods filled up with wild bees (in
some areas they already are, of course).

5. If the goal is to maintain "original stock" -- I goal I would heartily
support -- then there are many good ways of doing this. There are many
organizations that raise and preserve plant varieties and preserving honey
bee types is also promoted in some areas. In other areas, the prevailing
bees are so thoroughly mixed, that the notion of race or type no longer has
much meaning.

Those are my opinions at present and are certainly subject to change in
light of better ones!

pb

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