Cordovans are really sharp looking. I was fortunate to actually have a
swarm of them take over one of my bait-hives a couple of years ago. My
guess is that they were from one of Cornell's experimental colonies, as the
empty hive was not far from campus. Who knows. I can't recall what became
of them; evidently the cordovan queen was superseded. It did make for an
odd sight when watching the foragers or just opening the hive for a look.
Sortof like angel-bees! I'd love to see a cordovan-carniolan sometime.