Thank you for bringing further discussion to this thread. I would like to
address your notes of Dr. Guzman's 2012 observations from Mexico and bring
to light my experiences here in Los Angeles from the last 2+ years:

- Traits are not diluting as previously hoped.
>
According to what I find doing live removals, the aggressive traits are in
evidence only a very small number of colonies. The percentage of hives that
I find in my full-time removal business which are "hot" ranks well under
3%, probably closer to 1%.


> - AHB Queens suppress non-AHB drones, giving a preference to AHB
> genetics.  (Notes do not describe mechanism)
>
Because I have not had access to systematic testing I cannot address this
statement, except to say that the level of obvious AHB behavior is
extremely low throughout Los Angeles where I do removals/relocations.


> - Frequent absconding, and frequent usurpation of EHB colonies.
>
 Bees which I have removed and placed in hive boxes do not abscond as a
rule. I have only had that happen once when it was a very small group of
bees I placed in a nuc box in a yard of 5 mature hives. The nuc got robbed
out, and the bees left. Another time there were too many empty frames left
in with the newly cutout hive; wax moths got in and took over. Those bees
absconded. I have heard from colleagues about similar one-off types of
experiences with cut-out bees. It is not common.


> - They gather less honey but instead divert energy into reproduction -
> They gather more pollen and raise more brood than EHB.
>
This is probably true; the hybrids I encounter are not usually great honey
producers, although, I do have a handful of hives that are outstanding in
that department.


> - Higher drone production, to the point of area-saturation.
>
I have no way to affirm or deny this. But I can confirm that the presence
of drones in any given hive at any time of year never exceeds 10%, unless
the hive is queenless and there is a laying worker situation.

>
> I recall being left with the impression of a chilling and borg-like
> reproductive strategy that left no stone unturned, and no opportunity
> unexploited.
>
Wow that is a scary scenario! But not what I see here. I know a half dozen
people who are involved in the live bee removal business as I am, and I
have not heard any stories that adhere to Dr Guzman's assessment. In fact
we are experiencing the same boom of interest in hobby-beekeeping seen
nationwide, and in fact are able to place these cut-out hives in backyards
(one per yard!) and in small rural apiaries without incident.

In a non-temperate climate, it seems plausible that AHB would quickly
> displace unmanaged EHB.
>
I am of the opinion that unmanaged hives are never a good thing. But I have
never seen or heard of AHB's taking over an EHB hive.


> It has been mentioned many times before, but also bears repeating:  AHB
> temperment can vary based on circumstances, and lack of "killing horses and
> dogs" doesn't necessarily mean they aren't AHB.
>
AHB hives are what we call here, "hot", "mean" or "aggressive". I did not
mean to imply that the litmus test of AHB is that they have to kill
someone! In order to qualify as unacceptable, they simply have to exhibit
any of those three above-mentioned traits.

Part of my business here in LA is placing hives in peoples' backyards, and
mentoring the people one-on-one in hive maintenance and beekeeping skills.
If I worked with the kind of bees Dr Guzman describes, I would have long
ago been sued and be out of business. But the fact is, my business is
growing. I believe in being a responsible citizen and I am not about to
jeapordize my business, my house, my family, other people's peace of mind,
much less society as a whole, by foolishly allowing creatures known and
experienced to be dangerous and noxious, to be housed in backyards of
people who are paying me to be the knowledgeable caretaker. Local bees are
thriving here in Los Angeles and their AHB traits are not in evidence
except in a tiny fraction of the population. Those bees are removed from
circulation and the queens replaced.

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