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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 4 Oct 2012 10:49:03 -0400
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> Furthermore, in recent years. beekeepers. deliberately or accidentally 
> moved hives from areas which are designated as AHB throughout pretty 
> well the entire contiguous US.

Right. So we are undergoing a natural experiment. What is not clear to some folks is that traits may or may not be linked. If AHB has hygienic or resistant traits, we want those traits. If the bees are not hostile or non-productive, then who cares what is their pedigree. 

There is plenty of testimony that pure africans tend to put a lot more energy into raising brood than storing honey. Which is not surprising since tropical bees tend to move on when the flow dries up whereas mediterranean and northern bees hoard and stay put.

But the bottom line is: nobody yet knows which traits are under direct genetic control, how they may be linked, and how they are passed on. There may be epigenetic factors that influence hostile behavior, that are not passed on by individual drones. Remember, bees reproduce in two ways: by the individual and by the colony. 

Behavioral traits *could be* passed on through swarming, much as stories are passed from generation to generation. In humans you can't separate nature from nurture. Maybe just as hard with honey bee colonies, as well. Finally, a vigorous survivor colony would likely have gotten *everything right*, not just one or two traits.

PLB

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