Scot, I didn't find the article very well thought out, but since you asked
for opinions, here are a few.
"Our area of the West Coast is one of the few places on this planet that
enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Most of the bees we have here are of
Italian descent (Apis mellifera ligustica). These bees are very well
adapted to our climate, to the rhythm of our seasons, to our flora. Over
countless centuries, they have evolved in similar conditions before
being introduced here, 150 years ago. Since then, these bees have been
instrumental in turning California into one of the world's most famous
regions for agriculture and beekeeping."
Well, that's just wrong. It was the German Black bee, Apis m. m. that was
brought out here 150 years ago, and that factual error destroys the
foundation Serge builds his argument on. And back when we had lots of
ferral swarms, they were more likely than not to be German than Italian
any way.
"Russian queens, on the contrary, have evolved in Eastern Siberia. The
conditions that placed constraints on their evolution and on their
natural selection in that part of the world are almost at the other
extreme of those that we have here."
So? The same applies to me, since I'm of British extraction and fair
skinned. I just wear a hat, and I'm doing fine, just like the Russian
hives I have.
"At this point, I must ask a series of questions and raise a red flag:
What will be the outcome of the cross between Russian bees, which are
adapted to cold regions, and Africanized bees, when they meet in
California?"
I imagine the same as what happened with the ferral black bees and the AHB
in Southern California and other places. They seem to want to sort out
back into "pure" strains due to mating stratigies, with some areas going
AHB and others not.
"Isn't this the perfect recipe to extend the domain of
Africanized bees to the entire North American continent?"
No, genetics don't work that way. If you breed a husky with a chihuahua
you don't necessarily get a big naked dog that stands the cold well.
"Can you imagine
the consequences of having Africanized bees all over the U.S. and
Canada? Did the scientists who went looking for Russian bees anticipate
this scenario? If they did, what was their plan to prevent it from
happening? Or did they even care if it happened?"
You need to be careful there. You are making many assumptions, some of
which are demonstrably false, and based on the line of reasoning that
proceeds from these assumptions you insinuate illogical and irresponsible
thinking on the part of these scientists.
"Africanized Honey Bees are already the result of a similar experiment
that went out of control: Nearly fifty years ago, a well meaning
Brazilian scientist imported African bees to South America. They escaped
from his custody, interbred with the gentle European bees, and then
spread far and fast to reach Texas, Arizona and California a few years
ago. Do we want to compound the mishap? Do we want to draw the so-called
"killer bees" further North?"
Having kept "killer bees" for 8 years in the Richtersvelt district of
South Africa, where they are the only native kind of honey bee, I can tell
you that they do just fine in cold areas, and I'm sure you all will be
making aquaintance with them soon, especially if you select local bees for
mite resistance.
"With all the respect that is due to the scientists for their good work,
they sometimes err. The importation of Russian bees might be one of
these mistakes."
It could be, but number one they are already here, and number two, you'll
have to give better reasons than you have for stopping the importations of
Russian bees.
"I can understand that beekeepers located in areas that endure long and
harsh winters are interested in having Russian queens, but I cannot
imagine that it would make any sense to have these bees here, in
California! Carrying colonies through cold winters is not a difficulty
we have to face in our climate."
What if they do better? That's a good reason.
"According to numerous reports, Russian bees are so different from our
Italians that the methods of managing beehives have to be adjusted or
modified for them. Russian bees are descended from the German black bee,
Apis mellifera mellifera, which is notorious for its aggressive
behavior, its promptitude at issuing swarms, and its nervousness on the
frames. It takes as many as ten days for a Russian queen to be accepted
by a hive. Do we really want to introduce these traits into our local
bee gene pool?"
I thought the Russians were A. m. carnica? But even so, with Eurasia one
continent, how do you figure which is descended from which? And again you
are forgetting that for years the German black bee has been the basic West
Coast ferral bee, and the first commercial bee.
"Again, let's not forget that some of our local bees have developed
tolerance or resistance to varroa mites. Let's select and propagate
these! All we need to do is to open our eyes, look at our hives, and at
the feral colonies that survive without treatment."
If you want a sure fire way to establish "killer bees" in the
Mediterrainian areas of the West Coast, you just described it.
Tim Vaughan
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