Peter L. Borst <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Very quickly you will have a hodge-podge of "local" bees,
>and without the risk bringing in diseases like AFB. Wild bees are 
definitely
>a vector of AFB. 

Hello Peter, 

That’s not what the restuts of this study say:
It seems to suggest that it is more likley domestic colonies are a vector 
of AFB, and perhaps placing feral colonies at risk. 

Incidence of American foulbrood infections in feral honey bee
http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjz/1994/26.pdf

“Samples of forager honey bees (Apis
mellifera L.) taken from the entrances of 109 feral
colonies in New Zealand were tested for spores of
Bacillus larvae (White), the causative agent of
American foulbrood disease. Seven (6.4%) of the
colonies tested positive, all with relatively low
numbers of spores compared to foragers taken from
managed colonies with American foulbrood disease.
This suggests that the feral honey bee population in
New Zealand may be relatively free of American
foulbrood disease and is therefore not a major risk
to managed colonies.”

“The feral colonies with known ages had an average
age of 6.7 years. Seven of 109 (6.4%) feral colonies
tested positive for B. larvae spores (Table 1). The
number of B. larvae colonies on the plates ranged
from 1 to 3 1.
All the samples of foragers taken from the 15
managed colonies tested positive for B. larvae spores
(Table 2). Six of the colonies had only one larva
each exhibiting clinical symptoms of American
foulbrood disease. Only one of the feral colonies had
a higher B. larvae colony count than the lowest
colony count from the managed colonies.”


“Few of the feral colonies we tested were positive
for B. larvae spores. Those that did test positive had
very low spore counts compared with the samples
taken from managed colonies with clinical symptoms
of American foulbrood disease, suggesting that
most of the feral colonies may not have been
diseased at all.”


Here in the USA:

“…an examination (methods unspecified)
of about 100 feral colonies (number unspecified) in
Sussex, England, did not reveal any cases of
American foulbrood disease, although it was present
locally in managed colonies (Bailey 1958).”


“Miller
(1935) reported that, of the many feral colonies killed
in Michigan, U.S.A., none were infected with
American foulbrood disease, although 13% of the
local beekeepers' colonies were infected.”

Best Wishes,
Joe

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