"But with drones flying up to 14 miles your 'fun' could have a significant impact on all apiaries within range - including some of yours??"


Maybe.  But so what?  Everyone else out there does whatever they like, so I already have no control over what is going on.  Most already bring in new stock from wherever, each spring.  And as Pete pointed out, there is evidence that "locally adapted" has nothing to do with "genetics".  My anecdotal experience is in agreement with this.  The ONLY genetic effects that I have experienced, myself, are *size of colony in the fall and spring* and *temperament*.  Honey gathering and ability to prepare for winter seem unrelated to what the genetics of a particular strain are.  That's my experience.  Keeping bees that overwinter successfully means having a strain that is adapted to the local conditions.  I am betting that this is primarily an epigenetic phenomenon, not a genetic one.

And by the way, my yards are more than 15 miles apart.


Christina



Christina Wahl, Ph.D.
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine
Ithaca, NY 14853

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