Tom Elliot wrote:
 
>I have asked the question on this list that you ask.  Is there any
>breeding work being done on AHB to select for a less aggressive
>nature.
>A lot of work has been done on section of the European Honeybee, why
>not
>the Africanized?  There are strains of AHB that do not show the
>extreme
>defensiveness which creates the fear.  Let's have some work done to
>provide AHB that can be handled with the ease of the Europeans and
>can compete with the Africanized drones for mating.
 
>I agree with your feeling that this could work.  I have yet to see
>anyone but myself post anything on this topic on BEE-L until you did.
 
>I am glad to hear from you.
 
Hi Tom and All
 
I like this quote and think that appliied to life it can only make
things better.
 
>"Test everything.  Hold on to the good."  (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
 
On the topic of gentler A.m.scut's (the AHB) there have been some
breeders here in southern africa that have had reasonable succes with
this. The Zimbabwean government had as it's chief extension
apiculturist a man by the name of Mike Schmalke(Sp??) (am trying to
get hold of him as have heard he has just got e-mail).
 
He has for many years bred bees using various techniques from AI to
cleariiing feral populations for many kilometers around his breeding
zones. My girlfriend has seen him open and move frames around
in one of his favourite african bee hives without even using smoke.
 
My only concern with this is that there is the danger that if one
does breed the african bee in north america people may import new
stock from africa, and given the encroachment of the Cape bee (see
Andy's newsflash from the previous post - I think when  last I read a
figure that this has resulted in over 250 000 beehives having to be
gassed) that cape bee genes would be introduced into the population -
with drastic consequences for the bee industry.
 
There is also a person working at the Rand Afrikaans University
using Artificial insemination to breed AHB resistant to the Cape Bee.
I gather he is trying to elevate the level of certain pheremones
produced by the bees, so as to make them more resistant to the cape
bees who have workers who exude more queen pheremones than other
bees. One then has to wonder whether once these bees are released if
they will not then have workers who smell like queens (just like the
cape bees), or if with the elevated queen pheremones in workers
whether they will develop ovaries as easily (I have had a hive where
I accidentally killed the queen that had laying workers in full
force two days later). Then will these super bees spread through the
remaining AHB just like the cape bees have, reducing the
biodiversity when the wild hives take on one of these bees as a queen
and she only lays drone eggs?
 
Just a few thoughts.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
(With any movement of a species there is always a wildcard or two
released)---
Garth Cambray       Kamdini Apiaries
15 Park Road        Apis melifera capensis
Grahamstown         800mm annual precipitation
6139
Eastern Cape
South Africa               Phone 27-0461-311663
 
3rd year Biochemistry/Microbiology    Rhodes University
In general, generalisations are bad.
Interests: Flii's and Bees.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post in no way
reflect those of Rhodes University.