Hi Gene
 
You mentioned a bit about being interested in these bees and the
possibility of keeping them. They are from what I have read rather
unfriendly, building up to very large swarms. Individual bees live
longer and the actual covering of a beehive is made with bees (bee
screen). Defence strategies include dropping of handfuls of bees to
defend a hive.
 
Keeping these bees anywhere else in the world must be a bad idea,
given how mving A.cerana around has dstroyed and made less profitable
a lot of the worlds honey industry through transplantation of
A.cerana's little friend varroa to A.mellifera. We know not what they
carry, and it is not worth the risk given how difficult they would be
to keep. With A dorsata one would have a big tree with bees on it.
Every change of season, the bees would migrate up to 500km away, and
then migrate back to a simlar area. This is difficult to control.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
---
Garth Cambray       Camdini Apiaries
15 Park Road        Apis melifera capensis
Grahamstown         800mm annual precipitation
6139
Eastern Cape
South Africa               Phone 27-0461-311663
 
On holiday for a few months     Rhodes University
Which means: working with bees 15 hours a day!
Interests: Fliis and bees
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post in no way
reflect those of Rhodes University.