>> We have already discussed this on Bee-L. We don't need a DNA test to >> tell them apart, if they act like African bees, they aren't welcome here. Yes, we have discussed it, and if I understand the conclusions, the designation 'AHB' may actually be meaningless since it is so hard to define in any really scientific way. Interestingly, this is the same problem that arose under segregation in the US not too many years ago. Determining who was African or Africanized proved difficult and arbitrary. Of course that did not and does not stop people -- even those who know better -- from trying to make that distinction, and they continue to do so with people and with bees. > let me understand the above? > If the bees act like African bees (possibly not be) then they need barred? Dewey Caron reported that colonies he examined at higher elevations as he went up a mountain in South America, and which acted just like EHB, proved to be actually be as Africanized as obviously AHB-acting bees he encountered lower down on that mountain according to the measures used at that time. (Personal conversation) > Perhaps you might share the way you would enforce the law which bans AHB > from New York? Beekeepers being beekeepers, laws are often hard to enforce and heavy-handed enforcement can cause hard feelings and division when they are. However, bee laws are very useful to draw a line, encourage conformance, and for moral suasion. The use of the term, "AHB" is useful since everyone 'knows' what it means, even if it is not an entirely valid designation. *********************************************** 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