>Good mellifera mellifera is underestimated IMO.

Agree!
 
> Fast bees that run generally on the combs.

That is the opposite of our experience: those here and in Ireland tend to be
very calm on the comb.  This may of course be due to selective breeding -
runners are generally regarded as undesirable as it makes manipulations,
especially finding queens, very difficult if there are few bees left on the
comb.

>they just might skip swarming if no resources are present. 
 
They typically supersede rather than swarm - another good trait; we see many
3 and 4 year old queens that are then superseded without swarming.  Mother
and daughter are often seen together.

Best wishes
 
Peter
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W 

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