> Many of our colleagues are fearful of the Lusby's bees but most
> reports of the behavior of the bees they keep are that they are
> gentle and not to be feared.

Well, to set the record straight, I would not describe them as "gentle".
Of course, I observed them only over three days, and only observed them
in two environments -- Lusbys' home yard, where I photographed Ed and
Joe disassembling hives without my having to suit up, and in their out
yards where the colonies were not at full strength.  We all know that
all beekeeping observations tend to have a strong locality component
(don't we?), so my observations were limited by those facts.

I think the term I used was "no worse than...".  They were okay, and
comparable to Hawaiian and Australian Italian stock, but not anything
like the *really* gentle bees I've worked.  Some California caucasians
come to mind as amazingly tolerant.  I had them 25 years ago, and still
recall how tranquil and productive they were.

Lusbees were, however -- IMO -- more gentle than some New Zealand
Italians I had one year.

allen ...Wondering, how is Ed coming along?

http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary
Time to open the Canada/US border to two-way bee traffic!

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