> Doug Sommerville?  I am quite sure that book has not guided any of the pros here in the USA in queen selection! Using a 2016 publication to back up that queen breeders have ruined the stock over the last 100 years is odd at best.

I have met Doug Somerville, and have a lot of respect for his work over the years. You probably have heard of his "Fat Bees Skinny Bees, a Manual on Honey bee Nutrition for Beekeepers. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australia."

> Your way off Pete,  its not for suggesting that,  its for Implying and insinuating they all do,  and have in such ruined the bees in the US who are now dying off en mass as a result.

That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. I never once even remotely implied, insinuated, or otherwise tried to say any such thing.

> You go on to cite Pellett from 1918?  That’s INSANE 

ALL CAPS, that's familiar. I cited Pellett only to show the very long history of breeding bees for color. I never said yellow bees were inferior, though the fact is when I have purchased them in the past (not given a choice) I had pretty low expectations. 

I am afraid you have understood nothing I have said over the past few weeks. In a nutshell, my point was that what are sold as Italians and Carniolans in this country (and elsewhere) are not really anything like the bees from those countries. Good queens can be purchased and we all know who the best breeders are. I never said or meant to point a finger at anyone, except maybe the people who are buying the queens, as they tend to influence what and when the producers sell. 

PLB

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