On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:45:17 -0400, Bill Truesdell
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Chris Slade wrote:
>>  All the 'hybrids' under discussion are of different strains or
'breeds' of the species  Apis mellifera and are thus, again using your
definitions, are 'mongrels'.

Bob wrote:
>Actually, that is exactly what they are, even the specific "pure"
races of bees. If you trace them back they are a mix of earlier bees
and on and on.

Not true. First of all, a "hybrid" originally meant a cross between
species like the mule (horse x donkey).

It has been expanded to include crosses of any sort of different
breeds or cultivars within a species like the Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel
x Poodle) or hybrid corn (Southern dent x Northern flint).

The words cur, tyke, and mongrel are generally viewed as derogatory in
North America, whereas in the United Kingdom "mongrel" is the unique
technical word for a mixed-breed dog.

The various so-called races of bees were first identified in specific
locations. They had existed in these locations for thousands of years
and therefore were given names which identified a distinct type with
particular characteristics.

An example: the Tellian bees, a North African race, found north of the
Sahara from Libya to Morocco (Apis mellifera intermissa).

To say that bees within these populations are also hybrids is to
reduce the term to mean absolutely nothing.

-- 
Peter L. Borst
Danby, NY  USA
42.35, -76.50

picasaweb.google.com/peterlborst

******************************************************
* Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at:          *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm  *
******************************************************