Hi all

Peter asked...
> Can you give any more details of the purpose and scope of the
> re-examination?

There are a number of issues that need addressing, they result from an
examination of the mathematics regarding the errors in plotted points used
in adjacent measurements. I am not talking about simple systems with limited
parameters, but large analyses that use forty or more wing points as well as
many other body measurements.

The advent of scanner plotting also introduces variance in the way points
are determined... Try using several 'automated' systems and each can give
different answers.

The point that Allen raises about the certainty of the parameters that are
considered accurate, is valid for strains and races that are 'modern', but
in the case of the dark european bee, we do have samples going back hundreds
of years and the DNA results are enabling fine tuning to be done on data
that was derived empirically.

> the increasing observation that most feral (I mean by this in the wild and
not
> managed by beekeepers) populations have a trend to move towards small cell
sizes

Scott raises small cell observations, but I think this is more to do with a
shift in the background of feral bees towards africanised survivor strains,
than a lack of quality or accuracy in the original data or FABIS
methodology.


Regards & best 73s Dave Cushman G8MZY
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/ http://www.dave-cushman.net/
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