Here is a potential research topic for graduate students/bee-researchers: Is Defensive Behavior in Honeybees Linked to Pathogen Resistance?
First off, please forgive my ignorance on Genetics: I can't tell the difference between CRISPR from rice crispy. ;)
I have had this long sneaky suspicion (knowing AHB and their strains, and mite resistance) that defensive behavior, which most beeks do not want, is maybe linked to disease/pathogen resistance, considering how genetic traits seem to come in packages. It appears, I am generalizing here, the RNA switch, on and off, must be involved in and affecting not a single trait but a cluster of traits. For instance, the Siberian fox domestication project comes to mind: the gentle trait also comes with a change in the color of their fur (white spots), among others.
AHB’s are known to be aggressive, but at the same time, they are also known to pick mites off their backs, like Cerana. Is there any link? Has our focus on breeding gentle stock been misguided, misdirected, or too anthropomorphic in treating an insect species?
Yoon
Because all beekeeping is local, all beekeepers are loco.
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