>Once a species or sub-species is lost, it is unlikely we will get it back.

I fully agree that ALL species deserve to be preserved to the extant that we can influence that. In addition to the works sited we now have the ability to cryopreserve drone semen and through instrumental insemination "virtually" bring back any stock that has been sampled. There should be a world-wide effort to identify and collect samples from all species and sub-species. It is a relatively low cost and high security way to lesion the threat of extinction.

The fact that a particular strain exists means that it should be preserved.  That is the correct moral and scientific view to me. It does not instill inherent value as commercial stock. Advances in breeding depend on making cold judgements on traits we deem valuable. Hopefully we can move forward on making our managed bees more resilient and at the same time not lose any strains, valuable or not to us beekeepers.   

Paul Hosticka
Dayton WA

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