Dave Cushman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> these blacks with about one band to show trace of Italian blood are
> the wickedest bees to sting that can well be imagined
It does not matter which way round the impurity arrives, it has the same 
result. Wrapped up in the quote is an important point, that any race, 
whatever it may be, in a pure and stable state tends to be docile.


In my yard there are hives that were originally Russian (pure), VHS (don't know what mixture), Italians (not sure how pure they were), and Italian/Buckfast cross.  That was two summers ago.  Since then they have been superseded (the originals were marked queens) and even with these now hybridized queens I still have a yard of docile bees.  I work the yard and use a minimum of smoke if any at all.  The bees are calm on the comb.  I have seen only one or two individual workers which seemed determined to be irascible during one or two visits to the yard.  I don't think that a general statement can be made that bees that are not pure to the race are hot or difficult to work with.

Mike in LA

       
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