--- Isis Glass <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Quote:
 What he
> said there is no real difference between feral
> colonies and colonies in
> hives.

Reply:
I agree that there is no real difference between most
wild bees and domestic bees.  Except, where traits are
allowed to develop to fit specific local conditions in
the ferals and bad practices in the domestics.  You do
not need total isolation in order for good traits to
develop.  Look at the example of Adrian's bees on the
island.  Yes, they were isolated and were devastated
from varroa due to the lack of diversity and
subsequent variation.  And if you look at the evidence
in the form of success that Kirk, Dee and others are
having in finding good genetics in the woodlands would
seem to suggest that there is a bigger difference than
you and most others might think.


Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA
Small Cell Beekeeping
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries'
http://www.biologicalbeekeeping.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/



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