Malcolm T.Sanford wrote:
>How about the Ligurian bees of Kangaroo Island in Australia?
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_Island
>
>As a beekeeper on Kangaroo Island, I am glad this was mentioned.  I 
>was debating whether to jump in but was a bit shy about sticking my 
>neck out in such distinguished company.


I did meet Malcolm on an post-Apimondia tour of Kangaroo Island.

Although the Ligurian bee sanctuary lists three hives being brought 
to Kangaroo Island to commence conservation of this pure strain for 
future generations, there is oral history about a queen bee breeder 
around 1886  which is more vague.  DNA testing was done about 10 - 12 
years ago.  I believe there have been some articles written about 
this research but the only information that has been passed back to 
the Island beekeepers is that the tests establish there has been no 
hybridization with other strains of bees for over 100 years.

The government run Bee Farm at the western end of the Island took 
steps to avoid inbreeding.  The memoirs of the beekeeper at that 
time, John Masterman, mentions encouraging swarming to spread the bee 
population  and migrating  hives to different locations for queen 
mating flights.  The Bee Farm operated until the 1940s when a bush 
fire burned out most of the floral sources for the park area.

I capture between 20 - 50 swarms every season from locations close to 
my home and from around apiary sites.  The naturalised population can 
usually be identified by being a small swarm as they issue from tree 
hollows with limited space.  Natural selection has been the driving 
force as nectar sources are cyclical with some seasons providing 
honey flows for as little as 8 weeks and other seasons year 
round.  The naturalized population has not been subject to selection 
by beekeeper for productivity or temperament and there is 
considerable variation in these qualities but also they are extremely 
good survivors in harsh times.  Each captured swarm must be assessed 
from beekeeper management point of view but at least 10% of the 
swarms match the most productive managed hives.

Some areas of the Island are isolated pockets as far as bee 
populations are concerned.  Without migration of managed hives into 
these zones, there seems to have developed particular genetic traits, 
such as a red queen (very placid), or small dark queens with 
aggressive hives.  The classic Ligurian tan brown queen is common 
across areas where corridors of continuously flowering vegetation 
have been retained.

Perhaps the isolated pockets would die out in time through inbreeding 
unless there is intervention from beekeepers.  The small dark queens 
certainly display poor brood viability.  However the Island is large 
enough to maintain a permanent naturalised honeybee population and 
the geographic isolation from the mainland of South Australia ensures 
that the genetic pool will remain closed.

Betty McAdam
Hog Bay Apiary,
Penneshaw,
Kangaroo Island



HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
J.H. & E. McAdam<[log in to unmask]>
http://www.users.on.net/~hogbay/index.htm

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