Re: Feral colonies.

        The term feral colonies is a mis-nomer. In countries where
beekeeping is widespread, the only difference between bees in hives
and bees in trees is just that: the former live in hives, the latter
in trees.
        Genetically, they are not different. To have a genetically
distinct population requires much more isolation than simply being in
the woods. You need an isolated island or a controlled breeding
program to produce a distinct strain.
        Most honeybees, whether in hives or trees, are a mix of all
the types present (such as Italians, Carniolans, etc.).  This is what
I call the common stock. If you want this stock, just let your bees
raise their own queens.
        It's just like using seed from hybrid vegetables. In one or
two generations, they revert to primitive or indistinct types. This
is not the way to get *better* stock, although there are other very
good reasons to see that the gene pool is kept diverse.

PB
Peter Borst

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