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Date: | Mon, 7 Jun 2021 15:51:50 -0400 |
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Further musings on honey bee races:
We must conclude after considering the comparative studies completed up to now, that on a world scale only 3 large races of A. mellifera are of enough economic value to warrant breeding efforts.
1. The Italian bee (A.m ligustica), above all in areas with warm summers and large nectar flows.
2. The Carniolan in a broader sense (A.m carnica), especially in cooler areas with early nectar flows and where there is much honeydew.
3. The Caucasian bee (A.m caucasica) for areas where the winter is not too long, without honeydew and with moderate honey flows.
Under some specific local conditions, other races are too important to be displaced. For instance the dark bee (A.m mellifica) in the eastern European forest areas. The Tell bee (A.m intermissa) with its brood cycle adapted to North Africa conditions and A. m. adansoni for tropical Africa. The Carniolan race probably has the largest number of ecotypes due to the fact that the Carpathian, Ukrainian and the Macedonian are also considered subraces.
Under natural conditions it is not possible to find a non-selected race which will give optimal results. Races must undergo a process of selection and because this means a cost of time and money (we need only to think of mating control and the comparative performance tests), the question is always whether or not it is financially feasible. This, of course, depends upon the methods used and the performance level of the comparative breed. But when we consider a number of experiments whose results agree with one another such as those of Bilash and my own, we can expect a 30-40% increase in performance. This values compare quite well with those obtained for other animal groups.
RUTTNER. MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ECONOMICALLY INTERESTING BEE SPECIES AND RACES. Apiacta 4, 1971
* I am posting this in the interest of having an informed discussion. I neither agree nor disagree with what it says but I do think Ruttner is one of the few to fully investigate this issue.
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