In a message dated 29/11/2008 17:06:25 GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
How can the size of the honey bee be related in any way to
the size of the "natural flora of the region" if
a) the honey bee is not native to the region; and
b) flowers come in all sizes, being utilized by
creatures from the tiniest insects to birds and bats, etc. ??
A few generations ago it was noticed that bees in SE Europe, the Caucasus,
had longer tongues than most other honeybees and so were able to make use of
different flora with longer nectar tubes, especially some of the clover family
. Russians and Germans both had breeding programmes to 'improve' other
strains by incorporating this characteristic and using it elsewhere. I am told
(Sue Cobey I think, but I could be wrong) that the breeding was successful but
the bees were useless.
Chris
*******************************************************
* Search the BEE-L archives at: *
* http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l *
*******************************************************