In a message dated 14/10/2007 22:28:52 GMT Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

> The  other reason is that Italian bees were chosen on the false premise 
>  that 'more bees make more honey' and Italian bees are noted for their 
>  inappropriate over production of brood.



Another problem in the UK climate is that Italians  and their hybrids tend to 
mate poorly or not at all in bad summers, which we get  regularly. Native 
bees, on the other hand, will fly to mate at lower  temperatures, will raise 
queens later in the season, and often use apiary  vicinity mating, with short 
mating flights which take advantage of short breaks  in the weather. They often 
keep several queens, which may well be an adaptation  to situations where mating 
may have been poor due to bad weather. 
 
Italians were pushed a lot in the early part of the 20th Century, when it  
was being claimed that Amm had become locally extinct due to Isle of Wight  
Disease. When I look at old books, though, there is at least some evidence  that 
some Amm strains were prolific and expanded quickly in spring. These would  
surely have been entirely suitable for modern commercial beekeeping; I wonder  
what happened to them? It may be unfortunate that the surviving strains tend to  
be the heather bee type, expanding more slowly, and with smaller colonies.  

Regards,

Robert Brenchley,
Birmingham  UK




   

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