<<<<If you want to find out more about the British
>native bees, look for the
>BIBBA *British Isles Bee Breeders Assn.* home page.  (that's @ --
 
http://www.angus.co.uk/bibba/
 
 
Sid Pulllinger wrote:
 
>The man in question was Beowulf Cooper, a government entomologist and
>enthusiastic beekeeper.  He died suddenly from a heart attack in 1982 and
>the book mentioned above was compiled after his death by a Mr Philip
>Denwood from the mass of material he left behind.  In 1964, after meeting
>with several leading beekeepers he formed the Village Bee Breeders
>Association, whose object was "the conservation, restoration, study,
>selection and improvement of strains of honeybees of native or near-native
>type suitable for Britain and Ireland. ...>
 
Thanks, Sid, that was the author I had in mind.  His book was extremely
interesting, and it is fortunate that Mr. Denwood was able to undertake the
task of completing the work.
 
 One of the most fascinating aspects of the book regarding the British bee
was the examination of bee longevity vs. merely prolific tendencies.  In
other words, instead of having huge populous colonies, there was a tendency
in some British stock to have longer-living individuals.  So with smaller,
more manageable colonies, the net result in work/nectar gathering would be
similar.
 
Additional emphasis was placed on the advantages of a less-prolific bee
which would not use up stores excessively (in raising too much brood), and
which would thrive in a single-brood-chamber hive.
 
Of particular interest, too, was the topic of SUPERCEDURE vs. SWARMING,
meaning that some British stock appeared to produce queen cells and just
*replace* the queen, instead of swarming.  That would be an extremely
useful trait for which to breed.
 
Anyone doing special breeding-work for trait selection would find a wealth
of information in Mr. Cooper's book.  Unfortunately it is probably not
widely available in North America, but I believe BIBBA does still offer it.
 
 
(Note that the BIBBA name (formerly Village Bee Breeders Assn.) was
recently changed.)