>Bee-Listers,
>
>Last fall I set a few partialy, filled supers out for my bees to
>clean-up and noticed several nearly, black honey bees enjoying the
>harvest too. During the twenty-three years I've had this hobby, I've
>mail ordered and kept Carniolans, Caucasians, Midnites and Italians, but
>I've never saw bees this dark. I'm wondering if it may be the Black bee
>my father's generation speak of as having in their younger years.
>    Our local bee inspector (seventy years young himself) took a colony
>of Black bees from the wall of a building which is located within two
>miles from here.  But within a year this swarm had breed out to the
>Italians he keeps.
>    I don't believe the Black visitors of last fall are "kept"
>bees. I live in a sparsly populated area and, that I know of, only one
>other beekeeper is nearby.
>    It's a long shot but is it possible the Black bee or maybe just this
>colony of Black bees is varroa resistant?  When the varroa mite came in
>a few years ago, it literally wiped out the bees my father, brother,
>neighbors and I kept for decades.
>   My reason for posting this and question is: Does anyone know of a
>realible method of tracking bees back to their tree?  If I can find it,
>the last thing in the world I want to do is cut it down. But possibly
>I'll be able to catch a swarm with a bait hive placed nearby.
>
>Thanks,
B lining will find the tree.  E-mail me personally and I'll help you out.
george
 
George & Lorraine Willy
The Village Inn of East Burke
Box 186
East Burke, Vermont
05832