Winter survived wouldn't be enough to attribute any characteristic as being
its compatability or its adaptibility, would it?

Point!



Randys comment
"Locally adapted" refers to a population (a group that exchanges genes via
mating) that nature over time has selected to be locally compatible.  That
selection, as Christina points out, could be due to a combination of
genetics and epigenetics.  Over time, the epigenetic effects would tend to
become fixed genetically, but may be up or down regulated according to
environmental factors.


No,  I disagree,  natures selection is not local adaptation, it  is
survival, nothing more or less.  Survivor stock is not my point (agreeing
there is such a thing)

What is happening a lot is the term Local adapted is being used to trash
bees from other areas.  Basically as I see it, it is a silly sales pitch.
Nothing more.  I see it a lot here,  "buy locally adapted nucs"  Illinois
queen initiative touts "local mated queens"  (in fact they just got new regs
in place to support their nonsense)

We have no criteria at all for "adapted" bees.  And most of the time people
are catching wild swarm and calling them survivor stock, or local bees
without having a clue of where they really came from, or what they mated
with.    
I see this new emerging term as nothing but a way to bash bees from other
places. Most often used to bash packages or southern producers queens. The
concept that a queen from TX can't do well in NY is nonsense, but used.
Good queens with the genetics that allow the hive to thrive matter little to
location.  The fact My grandmother lived in Texas,  has no bearing on my
ability to survive Alaska,  and so it is with bees.

Of course the gentics of the colony may suit it more to one area than
others, such as Russians do better than Italians.  But if you take Russian
hives to TX,  they don't suddenly change there habits,  not do Italians in
AK.  Why?  Because they don't adapt.  They either survive or die.  They do
not change there habits.

If there was any truth to "local adaptation" Africinized bees would
unstoppable as they learned to adapt to cold.

Just my thoughts,  a bit frustrated with some terms.

Charles

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