I have been observing this discussion with interest.  As one who has
traveled a fair amount (I, for one, knew that Lithuanian is part of the
Canary Islands, just off the coast of Australia, and next to Crete) I have
learned that latitude and longitude mean very little concerning weather
conditions.  Hobbyists and other beginning beekeepers should use extreme
caution in relating latitude and longitude to climate for purposes of
beekeeping.
 
When I started international travel in the mid-60's, I expected climates to
roughly correspond with latitude.  Of course, I had learned in school about
the Gulf Stream and Humboldt Current, but nothing prepared me for the
magnitude of their effects on the land masses that are adjacent to their
East, where they are effected by the prevailing winds.
 
London is 51.30 N, .07 West (thank you, John).  That places the United
Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Northern Germany at roughly the same
latitude as Hudson's Bay in Canada.  Many Americans, and all Canadians, will
recognize that area as being considered uninhabitable (except for a very few
Native Canadians), yet millions of Europeans happily live and work at that
latitude.  The reason, of course, is the warm Gulf Stream which originates
in the tropical Atlantic and is hundreds of miles wide and still very warm
when it reaches Europe.  The prevailing winds distribute some of that warmth
to the Eastern and Central part of the continent.  The effects are
significant far inland.  Rome, for example, is on roughly the same latitude
as NYC, yet has a climate roughly equivalent to our Florida.
 
The Humboldt Current, originating off the coast of Antarctica, is extremely
cold.  The effect on South America is the opposite of the effect of the Gulf
Stream on Europe.  Peru, Chile, etc. have temperate climates, while Africa,
on the same latitude, is tropical.
 
 Albany, New York, where I live, is 42.39 North, 73.45 West.  That is
considerably south of London, yet our climate is much, much colder.  The
difference in climate is so pronounced that practices for matters such as
wax moth control, Varroa treatment, supering and queen production all need
to be very different.
 
Someone suggested identifying climate by reference to the United States
Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones.  That would work well,
especially if the micro-zones such as those published by Sunset were also
used.  Unfortunately, they mean nothing to those in other countries.  If a
reader is interested in the climate prevailing elsewhere, the most reliable
indicators might be to ask what crops and fruits are grown.   Crops such as
cotton, tobacco, and rice are dead give-aways, as are fruits such as apples,
pomegranates, peaches, and bananas.
 
Lloyd