Message text written by Dave Black
>I am told that A. cerana ventilates the hive facing out, A melifera
>facing in. I have scanned my videos all weekend and not managed to
>decide if this is true or not. Do any of you know ?
 
Apparently it is. Ruttner refers to it, and gives a couple of references to
relevant papers in Biogeography and Taxonony of Honeybees. However I didn't
notice any difference when I briefly worked with A. cerana in India a few
years ago . Now that I come to think of it, I'm not convinced that A.
mellifera colonies always fan facing inwards. Don't they sometimes fan in
two or more groups: some facing inwards, others facing outwards?
 
 It's so cold here in the UK (as Dave knows) that no colony is fanning at
the moment so I can't go and check. Perhaps others in warmer countries can.
 
 
James Morton
London UK