>>I talked with Tom about this. The other candidate was bee behavior. Small colonies that swarmed often breaking the brood cycle. That would be highly dependant behavior as well as the size void. Ferals that I keep very close tabs on (one in a bee tree and several others in logs slated to be cut-out) in my front yard, threw a single prime swarm and the impulse subsided the rest of the season. IMO, it is false to insinuate that ferals are all small colonies. >Don't forget the colonies that swarmed will have 3-4 weeks without >laying queen until virgin is mated. Not necessarily true considering the varied environmental influences. Also, I am not aware of any study concerning the swarming impulse in feral honeybees found in a woodland habitat. The nest structures would be vastly different from that found in domestic bee hives, and may have an influence on swarming impulse Or delaying of departure. So there is really not sufficient evidence YET to support the suggested candidates for resistance in feral colonies. Regards, Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA ‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles FeralBeeProject.com ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************