In a message dated 01/08/2008 15:30:36 GMT Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<<Have the phenomenae of Apiary Vicinity mating and Bubble assemblies been
studied in US ? I was of the opinion that such traits were closely
related to A. m. mellifera, rather than any of the hybrid races that
abound in US.>>
Dunno about studied, but the 1917 edition of the ABC & XYZ has a series of
accounts of AVM in its article on 'drones', and one of them explicitly
describes the bees concerned as 'Italians'. I wonder whether it's actually a case of
the behaviour being associated with AMM simply because that's where it has
been studied.
Regards,
Robert Brenchley
Birmingham UK
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