Isis Glass wrote:
> Evidently more
> people in the US no longer accept evolution than do. But if you are going to
> cite evolution as a factor in the emergence of hardy bees in the wild, you
> have to refer to the actual facts of evolution. The fact is: evolution takes
> a lot of time.

Lesson # one in politics- do not believe polls unless you know the
question. So I question if more do not accept evolution. Maybe they do
not fully accept Darwin (as many scientists disagree in whole or in part
with the Theory), maybe the absence of God, maybe anything.

To elaborate a bit on what Isis said:

That evolution takes time is key, especially in going from one species
to an entirely different species distinct from its parent and not able
to cross mate.

We can see change in our lifetimes, but they are changes in the species
and usually because of the trigger of one or more already existing DNA
strands. You could call it evolution, but there is nothing to say that
this sort of "evolution" is permanent since, as with the moths, if the
stimulus is removed, the species reverts to its original state. Just
note Varroa and pesticides.

That is not really evolution, but adapation or selection. You have a
disparate range of characteristics in a population and pressure selects
for a specific character. We do that with our bees by assuming the
position of nature and select to our desires. We also enounter problems
in that selection, since the original characteristics are still in the
DNA, only turned off, and are often turned back on. So our gentle bees
become angry and our winter hardy die off with a mild chill.

We can only hope that we arrive at some fairly stable state that will
stay with us for a while. The problem is, we cannot control our main
adversary, which is Nature, laughing at us from just beyond the
boundarys of our apiary. She harbors all those mavericks that will
dilute our gene pool. She also sets the agenda when the bees escape our
apiaries. And she will sneak in when our back is turned and turn on that
DNA strand.

As long as we keep bees we are both the problem and the solution. There
is a good argument that without beekeepers we would have lost EHB in the
US and would now be totally AHB in the areas it can survive (which seems
a bit larger than what was thought). In the same vein, we are a part of
the problem since we maintain Varroa susceptible bees. We chose the
latter course since, to do otherwise, would have left us with nothing.
It is nice now, after the initial Varroa attack has been held in check,
that we have the luxury to select a better bee.

Once we get to a tolerant bee, my guess is we will probably fall into
the Tracheal Trap, which is we live in pesticide free balance but fall
out from time to time resulting in major winter kills. Varroa and
Tracheal will always be with us, hence, like the flu, can flare up with
disastrous consequences.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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