>Not really - horses do not mate in free flight.

Stallions and bulls are known to jump and/or crawl fences routinely.

>As I said, the background population has more A.m.m. than other races.  Even
>in this heavily introgressed area, a recent study showed 42% A.m.m. mtDNA

Seems that the bee can hold its own then, without the need to try to control
others' practices.

Interestingly, some studies have shown that bees of different strains from
adjacent yards do not interbreed to nearly the extent we would expect.  Timing
of mating flights and many other factors apparently greatly reduce inter-mixing.

> Man is rapidly altering a balance that has developed over thousands of years.

I submit that this balance has always been influenced by man and that man
may very well have introduced the bees in the first place.  Is there proof to
the contrary?

I am always impressed by the variety we see in dogs and the huge range
of characteristics that apparently result from human management.

>Are we to judge a bee solely on the amount of honey that it produces?  

I suppose that depends on the individual.  I doubt that anyone uses that
narrow a screen, although I am sure most beekeepers rate that characteristic
fairly highly.  To me at this point, however, surplus honey is a nuisance,
something that interferes with my enjoyment of my bees, and something
I try to avoid producing.

(Interestingly, I have that in common with those who produce bees and
queens for sale and who also prefer bees which reproduce readily and not
just at swarming season -- and do not make the boxes too heavy.)

>appreciate that there are those on this list - we might say dominate this
>list - who make or have made their full-time living from honey production
>(and/or pollination) and that they might have their own values.  

Odd you would say that because I am sure an objective observer would
see otherwise.  The BEE-L mix includes several former commercial
beekeepers, but also bee inspectors, scientists, regulators, an editor or two,
a number of published writers and some organic producers as well as a
healthy contingent of back-lot beekeepers.  Maybe someone will expand
the list.

>I currently average 100lbs crop per hive based on autumn count

Odd again that you should produce such a very round number.  I always
wonder how such numbers are summoned up. 

Not to suggest this is the case, but do I recall that our neighbouring
province always reported their provincial average in numbers which ended
in a zero (not two) and was always larger than Alberta's.  Later we learned
that they were a fiction concocted by phoning a number of large beekeepers
and asking. 

As a fellow beekeeper said to me about beekeepers discussing yields:
"First liar never had a chance".  Of course, none of us would ever make
numbers up, but I hear that 87.32% of all statistics are made up on the
spot.

Anyhow, Saskatchewan heavily controlled imports and movement of bees
in the name of protecting from mites and other invaders while Alberta did
not.  At the end of the real-world experiment which began in 1986, we see
that Alberta, where we deliberately avoided regulation and quarantines, but
encouraged co-operation by showing leadership has continued to have a
healthy expanding bee economy.  On the other hand, Saskatchewan has
steadily lost beekeepers, hive numbers, and production.

That is what comes of attempting to promote bee health over the economic
health of the industry, or did in this case.  Other Canadian provinces, all of
which were less free than Alberta have suffered declines, apparently in
proportion to their regulatory load.  Alberta alone has prospered.

> Would moving to ligustica provide a better return... If so, should I do it
> because I would make more money?  

This is rhetorical false alternative.  Ligustica is not the only -- or necessarily
reasonable choice, but there may be others which would enhance your stock.
That seems to be the opinion of others who write me off-list but do not
wish to be bombarded by rhetoric.

> What would be the cost to the environment of producing that sugar for
me to effectively turn into honey?

Well, we cannot turn sugar into honey, but I know what you mean.

Beekeepers do remove honey, then winter on sugar and I have long
pondered the non-monetary economics of this.  In some case, it is
necessary since some honies would kill the bees over winter, but in most
cases, bees would winter just fine on it.  All that extra trucking, extracting,
feeding, etc. consumes a great deal of energy and promotes the very
mono-culture beekeepers abhor.

>If personal gain is our only criterion then the world will be a poorer
>place.

I agree and thank you for this interesting debate.

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