>But Peter, I am still curious about your statement >"I am not sure that the breeding of 
bees has been beneficial overall."<

Sorry I don't have time to go into it right now, maybe this weekend. I thought the paper 
was riddled with faulty assumptions and unequal comparisons between species. 

But insofar as my statement about breeding goes, in a nutshell: what we have done with 
breeding with most of the plants and animals under our case is to breed for qualities we 
like and worry about health and vigor later. 

So you have varieties of plants and animals that cannot thrive without constant care in the 
form of highly sanitized environments and chemical inputs of all sorts. 

However, Marla Spivak, et al. are turning the tide on this regarding the honey bee, in 
emphasizing selection for hygienic properties.

plb

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