Peter Borst wrote:

> I think the term race should be dropped altogether, but especially with
> bees. There are certain types, with characteristics, but actually, great
> differences occur between hives, so I would hesitate to attribute
> characteristics to "type" rather than individual colony.
>


Peter,

Roger Morse referred to at least 26 seperate honey bee races.  I understand
the symantic nature of these labels (race/strain/subspecies, etc.), but
would suggest that the general concept of race is still valid in many
discussions of biology (even of humans).  I also understand the issue of
dilution, which may be clouding the issue more in bee breeding circles than
elsewhere.

In plant breeding, the term "Land Race" refers to observable differences of
a small subset of a variety (which is, itself, a sub-species) - the term is
usually applied to food crops which become distinctive due to the regional
influences which defined them.  Example - thousands of land races of rice
have been observed in Asia, where rice farming and plant breeding have been
ongoing for milennia.  Each land race has specific traits which make it
ideal for the area in which it is found (e.g. drought/flood resistance,
lodging resistance, pest resistance, etc.).

I am not a professional biologist, but I would imagine that *generally*
accurate observations can still be made of many bee races today, while
acknowledging that there are variations on any given theme.

Regards,


Todd.



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