Hello Roger & All,
 It doesn't mention sicula either.  What special character did Ruttner find
in the subspecies?

Even on google information about A.m.sicula is hard to find.

 I did find Brenda Ball and other researchers were trying to import 10
sicula queens into the U.K.. Was part of cooperative research on varroa
tolerance with five other countries. Some kind of group varroa research
think tank. Maybe Peter Edwards  is familiar with the group.

Coincidence or not?

The queen of this race (sicula) is dark and the hair is not Grey or brown as
in other dark races, but yellowish (Ruttner 1988). I have never seen a
carniolan with the yellowish coloration of hair.Actually I have never seen a
dark bee in the U.S. with blond hair. Quite beautiful in my opinion.

All the 104 queens I first received were dark to jet black with the blond
hair!

What have others around the world seen? Any devoted carniolan lovers found
carniolan queens  with blond hairs?

Ruttner on A.m.sicula :
The most surprising observation according to Ruttner (1988) is that no swarm
departs the hive until a number of virgin queens have hatched. The resident
queen and daughters live together peacefully in the nest prior to the
departure of the swarm. (source 92 edition of The Hive and the Honey Bee
pg.56)

"The best Russian lines I have found are dark and a few are jet black in
color,but they do not look like my carniolan queens. The Russian/Russian
queens are dark with blond hairs and the longest wings of any bees I have
worked with" ( source "  Russian Bees"
January 2005 Bee Culture pg.53 by Bob Harrison)

The bee lab ( summer 2002) reported Ruttner found A.m. sicula genetics in
the Primosky bee.

Bob

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