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Date: | Fri, 22 Dec 2006 19:35:19 -0500 |
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Hello All!
Beekeepers in these days are often quoted as saying, “My survivor bees are
darker”, or “My bees are getting darker than they once were”.
In the fascinating article by Steve Sheppard, “Selection and possibilities
within honey bees – be careful what you are selecting for”.
<http://www.beeculture.com/storycms/index.cfm?cat=Story&recordID=480>
Steve writes:
“In 1929, a Russian honey bee scientist visiting the U.S., Dr. Alpatov,
noted that Italian honey bees bred and sold in the U.S. were more yellow in
color than populations he had studied across Italy. He attributed the color
difference to U.S. queen producers who actively selected for this trait.
The tendency of U.S. breeders to produce and sell a brighter queen is
perhaps understandable, given that such a 'product' could be more easily
differentiated from the dark bee commonly used by beekeepers prior to that
time.” (Steve Sheppard)
Talking only of the Italian honeybee race here,,,
We have breeders starting in the early 1900’s actively selecting for the
yellow trait in Italians to help differentiate them from the German black
bee.
With bi-directional selection, is it possible that merely by selecting
yellow Italians to differentiate them from the German black bee, breeders
would also have been narrowing their genetic base by selecting against the
diversity found in the Italian feral population? In affect, excluding the
Italian feral population from the genetic pool which will have not
undergone a change to yellow from domestic breeding practices.
Because beekeepers are now seeing survivor Italians tending to be darker.
Does this suggest that the feral Italians are leading the recovery in this
race? IF it were a domestic honeybee led recovery, wouldn't one expect the
yellow Italian types to be noticed as the survivors?
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries'
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---
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