George,
	Where in Florida are you located. All of my queens when I was
keeping bees in florida also inched closer to the darker side with each
generation. They also increased in uniformity between colonies as well.
Each generation also worked longer hours than the generation before.
Last year before I moved to Iowa, and I believe today marks the 1st
anniversery of that move, my bees would be foraging as much as 1 hour
before dawn and as long as 45 minutes after dusk. I believe your bees
are still italian, italians are often darker, my bees today are quite
dark and are quite italian.

--
Scot McPherson
The McPherson Family Honey Farms
Davenport, Iowa USA

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