Debbie wrote:
>
> Hi to ALL!
> I was wondering if any-one can tell me about the old English brown bee?
> Around 1834 my GGGrandfather came from England and as far as I know
> Debbie  from CanadaAccording to Ruttner in his 1990 book 'The Dark European bee' the old
English bee still survives in the North Island of New Zealand. My
research reveals that these dark bees were first introduced there from
Yorkshire in 1839 by the sister of a missionary named Miss Bumby and
later in 1842 by Mr Busby (I do not joke) who brought them across from
Australia. Testing has confirmed that these are a pure strain and match
the original stock found back in England. Peter Barrett from downunder.