Peter said "Should be the same with bees. No need to sample the bees if they aren't vicious. No need to sample them if they are. If your "European" bees sting somebody due to negligence on your part, the DNA won't get you off the hook. If my bees have African blood in them and they don't bother anybody, so what." Some years ago I reported an 'africanized-appearing' hive of bees that had been attacking workers and nursery owners nearby, in upstate NY. These had come with a migratory beekeeper from Florida, and at the time it was a modestly well kept secret that all migratory beekeepers were bringing back such hives and just not talking about them. My statement caused quite a rukus on this list and I was called a rabble rouser, among other things. Our brave NYS Inspection Service sprung into action and sent samples to Maryland, where they were promptly confirmed as Africanized; the first confirmed in NYS. Of course, there were many elsewhere but among hives belonging to buddies of Inspectors, all of which were (at the time) commercial beekeepers and many of which were also migratory. What was done...the hive was killed, and no further action. The bright lining of the cloud was that many hours of inspector time were involved. Proving once again that the primary purpose of the NYS Inspection Service was to provide employment and benefits to Inspectors and staff of NYS Ag. and Markets. Thankfully, budget considerations seems to have finally done away with this particular beast. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm