allen dick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Curious, what traits, and how consistent are they from colony to colony?
Hello Allen!
In these early days of the feral recovery, results from assessments on
captured ferals from different areas, suggests to me that breeding
populations of honeybees can adapt traits specific to the micro habitats
in which they live, and develop varroa resistance mechanisms adapted from
resistance traits available in that breeding population to the degree and
order in which they these traits are prevalent and or effective in
relation to the environment factors found in the habitat in witch they
live. So I am beginning to look at each feral assessed as ‘representing
the attributes of the breeding population inhabiting a micro habitat’, as
well as ‘representative of the genetic attributes of the individual
colony’. Traits in these ferals seem to only be consistent withen a
breeding population and can change from one breeding population to the
next.
Hygienic behavior and smaller cell sizes seem prevalent in most ferals
assessed. But my interest is on traits that seem to stand out being much
more prevalent in one breeding population and sometimes non existent in
another. Traits identified so far existing in some populations and not
the other, being the most obvious are: * Intense Grooming Behavior
identified in a specific farmland feral population in 2001 and * High
Brood Viability together with * Enhanced Foraging Abilities identified in
a population of woodland ferals in 2005.
Starting with grooming behavior, I found this behavior easily passed on to
daughter colonies, while other ferals outside the line do NOT exhibit this
behavior. The particular grooming behavior I am still in the process of
studying because it does not meet the description of allogrooming
previously described by Seeley. So experiments this year will be focused
on filming an actual grooming of a mite, as a means to verify the
existence and if there be a purpose to the trait. Because this line are
my best performers I’m trying to find the reason why that is, so I am
looking all things that stand out in this line.
In 2005, I began to notice that woodland ferals were routinely and rapidly
out pacing other swarms in growth and foraging abilities during 18 weeks
of initial assessments, starting with ‘colony initiation’ throughout the
first seasons ‘growth stage‘. So I am actively targeting woodland ferals
and focusing assessments of all existing and new stock on brood viability
and foraging abilities.
It is possible that woodland ferals have a highly developed foraging
strategy. Better able to scout and survey food source patches covering a
vast area due to the need to routinely forage several miles from the
nest, and the pool reconnaissance of its foragers to focus foraging force
on a few small but high quality patches found within the vast foraging
area. But the fact that they out compete in initial assessments suggests
a honeybee that is highly competitive and potentially better acclimated,
both traits of high interest to myself..
>Also how do you figure to infuse these traits into the woodland bees?
The plan is to place a drone source colony in the area, and potentially
releasing a swarm in the area. I don’t know if it will work, but if it is
a useful trait, I suspect it will succeed in several years and become
prevalent in that population of ferals. If it is not a useful trait, I
suspect it will fad away in that population.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
EcologicalBeekeeping.com
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries'
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/
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