>So the question is, what does one mean by "local"?

As so often happens as I ponder a response, others (Jose, Janet, and Randy) clearly bring up the points in my mind.

We should examine what exactly we are looking for in "locally adapted" stock. From a pure evolutionary stance I suppose we are referring to ferals that have managed to survive in a given environment. That happened long ago as bees spread across Europe and the Middle East. Once humans started to manage bees for their own use "locally adapted" more acculturate means adapted to our management practices. So what we want is not "locally adapted" bees but "malleable" bees, those that respond well to our management.

Of commercially available stock only a few traits can be depended on. Some maintain a smaller winter cluster and reduce brood rearing and thus are more conservative of winter stores use. Others keep a larger colony population throughout the year making them better for early pollination contracts. Beyond that things like defensiveness, hygienic behavior, some degree of disease and pest resistance can be bred into or out of any stock. In a given environment beekeepers with different objective and values will select for traits that suit them, and both can have success. So back to Randy's question.

I disagree with the notion that local ferals, even to the extant that they exist, are inherently superior. They demonstrate only the ability to survive unmanaged. Most of their characteristics, small colony size, frequent swarming, strong defense, are not what most beekeepers are looking for. If you want bees to survive unmanaged, get out of their way and take up stamp collecting.The one huge trait that we all desperately are looking for is the ability to control varroa. If not for varroa I doubt that we would be having this discussion. 

So is varroa resistance/tolerance a local issue or a universal one? Are varroa locally adapted? That is a serious question. Will varroa from one area differ from those from somewhere else? I know that there are different strains, but among v. destructor have they adapted to a local environment? In the long run they should adapt to not kill their host but have we isolated any with that trait? Perhaps fuel for a new thread.

Paul Hosticka
Dayton WA

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html