On Thu, 24 May 2007 20:31:52 -0500, Scot McPherson 
>I know there are races of bees which seem to break this rule, but different
>races aren't part of the equation. This is what is misunderstood. Its not
>that black bees come from the north and yellow from the south, however that
>is true, but not quite because of race. It is more of an adaption and of
>course genetic dominance of an adaption.

Can't generalize on color. There are too many exceptions. There are numerous
examples of black bees in the tropics. In the dwarf honey bee, the yellow
type ranges from the Persian Gulf and India to China but a completely black
type predominates farther south in Indonesia, near the equator. 

The giant honey bee exists only in the tropics but has both a yellow striped
and a completely black form. 

In Apis mellifera, there are black and yellow forms of monticola in the
mountainous regions of tropical Africa. Hepburn states: "three varieties of
bees occur in Gabon, Congo, and Zaire [all on the equator] are are
distinguished by their yellow, black, or grey colouration. For Zaire alone,
blackish bees have been noted in the western part; elsewhere the bees are
yellowish."

However, according to Hepburn, coloration is less than 40% heritable. It is
also affected by the brood temperature, hence seasonal and geographical
variations. Queens raised at slightly lower temperatures will have darker
pigmentation. 

But regarding adaptation, just what sort of adaptation are you
contemplating? There simply is no proof that color in honey bees has any
adaptive value. Just a lot of supposition, no proof.

Being black or yellow has never been shown to provide a survival advantage.
The only plausible advantage I can guess at would be camouflage. Dark bees
might do better in dense forests and yellow bees might have an advantage in
the savannas. But nobody has ever looked into it that I can find. 

The whole race thing is moot, especially in the USA. We simply do not have
honey bee races here. Sure, there are yellow bees and black bees, etc. but
these are merely coloration differences enhanced by selection by bee
breeders. I worked for a large queen producer and the primary characteristic
they looked for was Golden. The bees were shipped far into Canada.

pb

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