Great discussion.  Some missed my point about Weaver--I offered him only as
an example of someone who has tried to select for gentle AFB for many
years.  Charlie described his degree of success--a number of us have tried
his stock.  Perhaps a good stock for below the 30th parallel.

Juanse had previously posted about the problems that AHB have with varroa
in Chile.

I do agree with Ruth that the SoCal ferals, in my limited experience, can
be a well-adapted, robust, healthy bee in that environment.  It's easy to
see their vibrancy when you compare them side by side to commercial
European stock in the same apiary.  I can fully understand Ruth's desire to
use their potential.

 Their degree of defensiveness follows a normal distribution--some can be
worked without protective gear, but for most you'd want to wear a veil; a
small proportion are fiery hot.   Handling technique is of greater
importance than with European stock.

And they are not safe to keep in a residential neighborhood, since the
defensive perimeter of some colonies extends for quite a distance, and
lasts for more than a day after a disturbance.  We Calif beekeepers also
are concerned about them being moved into almonds and causing "incidents."
Or worse, screwing up the matings of our gentle stock.

A few years ago I had a visiting photographer tagging along with me in an
almond orchard.  We stopped at a drop of my hives, and I said that I wanted
to take a look at them since I had requeened them with a friends "mite
resistant" stock that had been sent to be mated out in central Calif (north
of where we find AHB).  Of course, I didn't think to have a veil nearby.
The moment that I placed my hive tool to the hive cover, it looked like a
brown fountain of bees started spewing straight out from the entrance like
a fire hose.  I yelled to the photographer, who was on the tailgate of my
truck behind me, to get into the cab.  But it was already too late.  I also
dove into the cab, and we killed dozens of bees that had followed us in.
For those who have not experienced the rapidity of the defense of a hot AHB
hive, it's beyond imagination.

I later found that the same breeder had sold queens to a hobby group.  One
buyer had a dog nearly stung to death, a couple of others also had serious
incidents.  Somehow, some really defensive traits had made it into that
particular cross of bees, and they were a public hazard.  I'm glad that no
orchard employee got hurt, or I would have been liable.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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