Barry Sergeant said: > The general reputation of the AHB in the West is that it is a killer bee. > Period. ... Even well-meaning information published on the AHB, > compiled by intelligent people, allows no leeway for this bee. Excuse the mass hysteria, but bees simply did not kill people or animals in the western hemisphere before the spread of AHB. Of course the news reports are sensational - they are also sensational when a meteor hits someone's house, or a tornado wipes out a town. People dying in sudden and unusual ways will always be "exciting news copy". While this may seem silly to someone in Africa, where bees are only one small two-paragraph entry in the massive 37 volume encylopedia "Things That Can Kill You Very Dead in Africa", the US has very few "killer" animals of any sort, and fewer still that are near populated areas. If it makes you feel any better, shark attacks at beaches in the US this summer were given all the sensational attention. > ... the seeming determination of Americans to sweep AHBs > under the carpet. > In the US, there appears to be a blind attitude that if you ignore > the AHB, it will go away. It will not > In practice, the attitude in the US towards the AHB is that the only > good AHB is a dead one. Each year, millions of dollars are spent > on locating and destroying AHBs in the US; probably more money > than is spent on US bee research. One must recall that there are many different groups with often conflicting agendas - the "public health officials" certainly want to works towards elimination of AHB near population centers. And yes, "public health" likely does get more money than "bee research". People first, bugs second, or third. Seems fair. Those further north may certainly "ignore" the bee, simply because the consensus is that they will not spread much further. But funding has not been simply limited to "search and destroy". > this bee... is now firmly in occupation of significant parts of the US. AHB do not appear to be spreading much beyond the southernmost line of border states with Mexico. Occasional stow-away swarms have made it well beyond their current range, including one that is presumed to have ridden a boxcar from Texas to Virginia, and another that recently made the error of nesting in the wing of a private airplane, resulting in a mostly-dead colony upon landing. > The only significant limiting factor in the AHB's spread, as in Africa, > would appear to be cold temperatures. While there may be some traits of AHB that would prove useful to a bee breeder, ability to overwinter would be a very basic need for any bee to be bred for US and Canadian use. > It appears bizarre that... the US... with such a freedom-drenched > constitution, cannot see the merits of working WITH the AHB, > rather than against it. I am certain that I have many misconceptions about AHB, so perhaps you can comment on some of the points made about AHBs by respected bee researchers. From what I have read, AHB seems to have a number of negative traits: a) The reports that AHBs abscond at the drop of a hat. b) The reports that AHBs are, by definition, smaller colonies, and are not interested in building up large stores, due to their more tropical origins, where large stores are simply something that needs to be defended. c) The reports that AHBs are certainly good foragers, but they will consume food as fast as it is collected, and are oriented towards producing swarms rather than crops of honey as a "survival tactic". d) The reports that the AHB response to repeated "disturbance" of the hive is to abscond. While this is an effective reaction to repeated forays by a predator, one wonders how they might react to regular monthly hive inspections. Also, a number of people gave talks and showed slides this fall about their summer visits to South African apiaries in conjunction with recent meetings in South Africa. One thing I noticed was that ALL beekeepers in all photos were equipped with bee-suits, many home-made. Elaborate hive-inspection approaches were also described, where multiple "teams" would simultaneously open and work multiple hives quickly in a small apiary so as to flee before the hives got too "nasty". (Clearly, these were not your bees...) So, while your crossbreeds may be docile, the general case in South Africa appears to be that the bees are highly defensive, to the point of forcing 100% bee-suit use. If that is how one must work AHBs, I cannot see these as "desirable bee traits" at all. I often shake or scoop a small number of bees into my hand, just to show visitors that my bees, if unprovoked, are more like tiny Saint Benards than rabid Rottweilers. This little trick is key to the calm attitude of the residents of neighboring farms about my bees, and bees in general. (No I don't do "bee-beards", as I am not employed by a carnival sideshow...) While I like gentle bees for ease of working, the trait of "gentle" is a critical one for the urban and suburban hobby beekeepers, since they can only keep bees if their neighbors will be tolerant. While the US constitution may well appear to be "freedom soaked", most authorities will certainly rule that too many bee-sting incidents means "public nuisance - move the bees", as the rights of "the many" outweigh the rights of "the few" in such cases. For the typical hobby beekeeper, "gentle" must be the primary concern, even if the "gentle" bees are less productive. So, if we were to crossbreed AHB into existing stocks, what would we get? What would we WANT from AHB stock? We have lots docile breeds to pick from now, and they all overwinter fine. jim farmageddon