>  as a method for re-populating the world's honey bees...

Last I heard, there is no shortage of honeybees worldwide and there are 
more bees under management than ever.

The idea that the world is short of honey bees is one of those popular 
hoaxes that beekeepers don't fight and even feed a bit because it makes 
us heroes rather than the pariahs beekeepers were in many circles in the 
past.

If people want to build up feral populations, the worst way to do it is 
with the commercial strains of bees we buy and which, at least to some 
extent, sacrifice hardiness and  disease resistance for unnatural honey 
production and often bee production, too.

At the same time as breeders are trying to breed resistant bees, they 
are simultaneously are working against that goal by prioritizing 
production.  What choice do they have?  Production is what finances bee 
sales and bee breeding.

A constant influx of imported commercial strains of bees into a region 
defeats or dilutes natural adaptation by feral bees in areas where the 
feral populations are making or might make headway against diseases and 
pests.  The constant importation of new problems and maladapted stock 
each season can overpower any headway made to adaptation.

That is not to say we should stop breeding and buying bees, but should 
understand that these bees are not going to help the feral populations 
adapt.

The bees that may well be under pressure and there are many studies 
confirming this, are not honey bees, but rather the native bees.  I 
think someone posted here that some thousands? of recorded species? of 
bees have not been seen lately.

I am not certain of all this because I have not been paying attention, 
but I know some on this list  have the facts and numbers so maybe will 
set this straight.

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