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Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:23:18 +0100 |
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Dave Cushman wrote:
>
> The other reason is that Italian bees were chosen on the false premise
> that 'more bees make more honey' and Italian bees are noted for their
> inappropriate over production of brood.
>
> More bees make more honey is only true if comparing colonies of
> similar type, so if you were comparing Italian colonies, in general
> the ones with more bees would gather a bigger surplus.
Although I do not have Dave's experience I would add what I believe to
be another important point in support of the AMM. According to Beowulf
Cooper and Wedmore (although I have not come across the point in the
only Wedmore book I have) AMM adult workers typically live for 2 or 3
weeks longer than Italians. This, in effect, about doubles their
foraging life. This results in colonies with foraging forces comparable
to Italians but with significantly less brood and nurses to support.
Added to this the small and relatively inactive winter clusters require
much less winter stores. All this results in a greater proportion of
the nectar collected being converted to surplus honey.
Regards
Steve Rose, Derbyshire UK
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