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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Peter Edwards <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:38:31 -0000
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> I am not sure how you determine "racial purity." 

That is something which has certainly exercised our brains in recent years!
DNA seems to be the gold standard, but beyond the reach of amateurs, except where they are in associations such as BIBBA.  

Wing morphometry is a fairly easy tool for most of us, but seems to have its limitations, although it appears to have been of great benefit in Eire; perhaps it is most useful to ensure consistent results when breeding.

Dave Cushman always advocated looking at various traits using the principle: if looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
Colour is an easy one for beekeepers wishing to breed A.m.m. and we eliminate all queens showing any yellow at all, although it is apparently possible to have a considerable amount of yellow colouration in bees that score highly for A.m.m. in DNA tests.
Size is another factor: A.m.m. has been described as a 'burly' bee.
The width of the tomenta separates A.m.m. from carnica.
Tongue length varies considerably between races.
Position and size of the brood nest - A.m.m. tends to put the brood nest at the front of the hive.
Pollen pattern - A.m.m. stores pollen within and below the brood area.
Frugality - A.m.m. shuts down breeding when times are hard, and it survives on very little in the way of winter stores (cost of winter feed may be low for those in the US - and the rest of the world - but the price of sugar in the UK is high).

Of course there are more traits that can be considered, and although none of these taken in isolation provide a positive identification, together I think we can make some very valid decisions.  Taking my previous analogy, all dogs have four legs, some dogs have short legs, some dogs have short legs and a long coat... with enough traits we can eventually make an accurate identification. We have to accept that in a world of imports and hybridisation we are unlikely to ever have a 'pure' bee, but we should be able to get close.

Fortunately, the influx of new beekeepers in recent years has seen many who wish to keep native (or near-native), locally adapted bees and there is less interest in importing exotic races.  The COLOSS report showing that local bees perform and survive better than imported races has confirmed what many of us have believed for years.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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