>Can someone please explain why this highly successful invasive is still not being studied with an eye towards “taming” the unpleasant parts out

> Ruth, I don't understand how you come to make that claim. Danny Weaver has been doing such selective breeding for many years, and has been closely watched by the industry.

Weavers are not "studying" the African bees in the usual sense. So far as I know, they would state that they do not even have them. One of their reps told me than when they have a favorable spring in Texas, the AHBs explode and the drones cross breed with the Weaver stock, producing irritable hybrids. But even if they do have great bees, their prices are off the charts. (Packages: $225 picked up in Texas) 

I asked Tom Rinderer about the AHB in Puerto Rico, and he stated that we "do not need them" as we have better bees already available. But I refer back to my original statement that African bee hybrids can be acceptable in behavior but recessive traits often reappear unexpectedly when hybrids are crossed with other hybrids. This is grade school genetics here. 

PLB

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html