> It has been said that 1 mite makes for an infested colony.
> Also that with a queen bee mating 10-17 times that 1 mating
> also makes for technically saying africanized FWIW. But as
> you brought up....what does it mean really here in USA? Is
> it right or wrong when compared to how looked at in other
> countries?
That is a good question. I've been present at talks on how the process of
Africanization proceeds, so I am acquainted with the theory, at least as
much as is known, and as much of that as is told, but wonder: If what is
being said is true, then the end point is a foregone conclusion. Much of
the US will become africanized, and the rest will have regular and extended
visits from AHB via the migratories.
So, it seems to me that the solution is to tame the AHB, rather than fight
it.
Where did I read or hear that the reason that the AHB in Tucson are now less
problem than when they first arrived was that the troublemaking swarms/hives
were immediately killed, whereas the less troublesome ones were not detected
and thus left alone. This selection, over a decade or more, apparently had
a noticeable effect, so it seems that they respond to selection pressures
fairly quickly, as expected.
Maybe there is too big an investment in existing stocks, or a simple
adversion to anything africanized, but if you cannot beat them, why not join
them? There seem to be a lot of good characteristics there.
allen
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