>
> . . . and I doubt most of them are maintaining pure lines either. They
> sell want the customer wants, and the customer wants yellow bees or black
> bees . . . .
>
> . . . People are writing all this nonsense with nothing to back them up. .
> . .
>

So where exactly is this unsubstantiated, non-backed up theory that "most"
breeders aren't maintaining pure lines coming from? Or the proposition that
the customer wants "yellow bees or black bees"?

Every time I've ever purchased queens, I've asked what they breed for (mite
resistance, honey yield, gentleness, ect.). Not once did I ask what the
color was. Not once did I care what the color was. Not once have I heard of
someone at a local or regional bee meeting talking about how they
want "yellow bees or black bees" or bragging about the color of bees alone.
They talk about characteristics.

I want a colony that is disease resistant. Italian genetics have a tendency
to be more disease resistant than some other strains. Queens that produce
offspring that are more disease resistant may hold more genetics that are
Italian in origin than other sources. Those same queens may be more
"yellow." Does that mean I wanted a "yellow" bee, independent of everything
else? Of course not. Does that mean I believe I'm sitting on an "off the
boat" Italian queen? Of course not.

Speculating that I, or anyone else, believes they have pure genetics in
their US hives, or speculating that "customers" want color alone are not
accurate statements, and are unsubstantiated nonsense.

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