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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 28 Nov 2013 13:38:17 -0500
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The question whether honey bees are continuing to evolve, as well as the question as to the future of the species (as if it were in doubt) can be seen by the impact of the African bee introduction into Brazil:

> The mechanism of ’Africanization’ is still discussed controversially (hybridization versus spread of a pure African gene pool) but the actual interpretation of mtDNA frequencies and the clear existence of hybridization areas in Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina strongly support the spread of hybrid populations which are formed by natural selection. The ecological consequences are quite clear: during the last 40 years this honey bee has occupied most of tropical and subtropical South America. Requeening of Africanized colonies with European queens occurs but beekeepers generally prefer Africanized bees 

> Hybrids with a higher European component were originally located in southern and southeastern regions of the country, because of the previous introduction of European bees in these regions. Partial reproductive isolation between subspecies, which has been used to explain higher similarity between African and Africanized honey bees (Kerr and Bueno 1970; Michener 1975), was not found in regions recently colonized by both subspecies

> However, the African gene pool confers a higher viability and fertility (and consequently a higher colonization ability) in tropical and subtropical environments (Ratnieks 1991; Villa et al. 1993). In addition, those hybrids with a slightly higher African component (and associated higher colonization ability) dispersed faster and increased feral popu- lations, in such a way that the migration front always kept a stronger African component than source local populations

Evolution and Population Structure of Africanized Honey Bees in Brazil: Evidence from Spatial Analysis of Morphometric Data. Source: Evolution, Vol. 49, No. 6 (Dec., 1995), pp. 1172-1179

Most so-called assessments of the health of the honey bee population completely ignore the honey bees outside of Europe and the United States, as if that was all there is. Or at least, all that matters. Stock from the African continent has been imported into Europe for at least a hundred years, perhaps far longer. Barriers set up to prevent the influx of wild type DNA from south of the US barrier have failed (they can't keep much else out either).

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