for those that would like to read the full study, it can be found here:
http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/vetmex/vm-2003/vm031e.pdf

What I find disturbing (or at least missing) is any reassurance that the colonies were managed similarly.  416 colonies is a good number to be looking at, but is it all "apples" or is it "apples and oranges"?  ie.  do we know if the european bees are likely to be on foundation (more easily managed, manipulated more often, placed closer to the beekeeper so they can be more closely managed), and the AHB more likely to be without foundation, not managed as intensively, and placed in remote areas where they are tended to less often?

Saying that 416 colonies are managed commercially doesn't tell us much about how they are managed, or even if they are managed similarly to one another.

The author references techniques used to "estimate honey production"....I don't know what these techniques are (references are in spanish), or if we can assume them to be accurate.

I believe that the DNA analysis technique used in this study is described at the top of page 50 (Nielsen et al)...one which only looks at the maternal line?  Would we not all consider a bee with a european mother mated to an african (or africanized) drone to be africanized?  I'm not sure that would be the case in this study.

deknow 

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