>> So Tom's bees are not the hoped for
>> resistant bee that some might think.
>> In time they might be, but not now.

I have been to the Arnot Forest. It is very small and there are a lot of
commercially managed apiaries very close by. In fact, I was working in that
area today. Wherever the drone congregation area is in that vicinity, I
would bet any amount of money the "commercial bees" predominate. 

The fact that the colonies are up in trees and widely spaced could account
for any effect seen. Commercial apiaries are just the opposite: hives very
close together, down on the ground, many hundreds working the same forage
areas, etc.

But we have been over this many times. All I am saying is if ferals are
surviving on their own, don't look to the genetic makeup of the bees,
because the fact is they are usually not really isolated and therefore not
different from other bees in hives in the same general area.

pb

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************