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Subject:
From:
Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 07:47:40 -0400
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This recent work explores the difference between feral and domestic bees, and also raises the difference between ecological vs. evolutionary time scales

The results of our comparison of feral and managed honey bees in Apis mellifera
support the view that it is unlikely that the mean mating frequency of queens is a labile
trait than can rapidly evolve to adapt to ecological challenges. Franck et al. compared two
subspecies in different habitats in Africa and found differences in mating frequency between
them, but these populations probably diverged long ago and therefore have experienced protracted
selection for higher or lower mating frequencies. The results reported here, which
found no difference in mating frequency of queens in the feral colonies in the Arnot Forest vs.
queens in the nearest managed colonies outside this forest, supports the notion that mating frequency
of queen honey bees is shaped by natural selection acting on an evolutionary, not an ecological, timescale.

Tarpy, D. R., Delaney, D. A., & Seeley, T. D. (2015). Mating Frequencies of Honey Bee Queens (Apis mellifera L.) in a Population of Feral Colonies in the Northeastern United States. PloS one, 10(3), e0118734.


[Of course, this leaves unanswered the question of what causes the difference  between the feral and the domestic population. It could be due to sexual attractiveness, country bees may not be attracted to city bees. Though I wonder how you could test this]

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