I could probably write a paragraph on each one but here is
>a simple general list of categories for the good comparing
>straight yellow to blacks in reading old archives and
>consolidation of information (as a bee by any name is still
>yellow or black, small or big, tropical or temperate):

As I and others have repeatedly shown, color in honey bees is cosmetic and
does not relate to any other performance factor. When the Italians were
first imported into the US, they showed a wide range of color. In their
native county they still do. In the US bees have been selected for color as
a marketing choice. People *expect* Italians to be orange and Caucasians and
Carniolans to be black. A knowledgeable bee researcher I know told me that
some of these queen breeders which produce both types sort them when caging.
If it is black, it sells as a Carny, if orange its an Italian. Having worked
with both types over the years I can tell you that golden Italians can
produce large colonies, can produce huge crops of honey, can be just as
gentle as any breed. I have seen dark bees that were mean as hornets, and
just sat there all summer long and didn't do squat. So I will say again,
color in honey bees does not correlate to anything. It's like color in
labrador retrievers: you've got yellow ones, brown ones, black ones.
Whatever you like.

H A

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