>Peter wrote: >I wonder if folks in the Southern USA have observed this >takeover by African Bees? I talked to a beekeeper who >trucks bees back and forth between FL and NY who >acknowledged that they "get in" to managed hives. > >Reply: >I have never seen anything new. In all the years we have >kept bees commerciallly, seeing small after swarms go into >queenless colonies is nothing new. Right. That's not what I meant. I have seen so-called virgin swarms where a number of bees go out with a queen on her mating flight. What I was asking about is "takeover by African Bees" -- where a colony of European bees is requeened by an African swarm. Evidently this is a significant threat to migratory beekeepers coming in from other areas. Supposedly there is a large feral population of African bees in Arizon, Texas and California and bees from all over the US are moved into these areas. That's what I was asking about. Of course, I realize that people may not want to admit their hives contain Africans. Just thought I'd ask pb -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---