I wish all those folks who go on and on about inbreeding and lack of diversity in US bees would read this:

> In spite of thousands of years confinement of honeybees to the oasis of Kufra, we cannot detect any serious deleterious effects due to inbreeding at the population level. Apparently the local colony density is as high as in non-isolated regions and also heterozygosity levels are within the range of other honeybee populations (e.g. in Europe) albeit slightly smaller than at the coastal populations.

> In light of the history of the honey population in Kufra we suggest it to be of particular interest for all three, fundamental population genetics, apicultural practice, and biodiversity conservation. Finally, it may be extremely useful for breeding programs in apiculture providing sources of yet non-utilized traits important for apiculture. We therefore strongly recommend not to follow the history of Brak, where migratory beekeeping has caused detectable introgression at the population level. If wisely used, the Kufra population may serve as a unique case for successful sustainable long term conservation reconciling the need for and of apiculture with those of conservation of biodiversity.

T. Shaibi and R. F. A. Moritz. (2010) 10,000 years in isolation? Honeybees (Apis mellifera) in Saharan oases. Conserv Genet 

 
Peter Loring Borst
Ithaca  NY USA
peterloringborst.com
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