Eugene asked:
> Is there a detectable difference between honey from these species?
> Assuming they're working the same blooms, what if anything are they doing
> differently?
If kept in the same area, it is quite likely that they will work different
plants. In the Western Ghats (mountains S India) we saw carana working
cardamom in deep shade at 7.30am. When they tried importing mellifera they
would not work it at all. The stingless bees work another group of plants.
> (Isn't honey from scutella the same as that from mellifera?)
Yes, scutella (or scutellata) is Apis mellifera scutellata!
> For that matter, if we could coax bumblebees into storing honey, would it
> be different from that stored by honeybees?
They don't store 'honey' - just nectar - so we will never know.
Best wishes
Peter Edwards
beekeepers at stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/
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