Randy writes:
In all the papers that you cited, the consensus appears to be that the
AFB
maintains African mitochondria, which have little to do with
behavior. It
also confirmed that the AFB has replaced a number of its alleles with
European. I don't recall any of the papers even mentioning epigenetics.
* * *
BEHAVIOR
This is not so. If there were no behavioral issues, it would be a non-
issue.
The last work I cited, Schneider et al, plainly stated:
throughout much of its range
in the New World, the invading honey bee population has remained
essentially African in its nesting biology, swarming and absconding
behavior, foraging and diet selection, *and* mitochondrial DNA.
While some introgression of European alleles has occurred, African
genetic *and* behavioral characteristics have been largely preserved
during the invasion process. For brevity, we refer to the descendants
of A. m. scutellata in the Americas as *African bees*
The work by SCHNEIDER, Gloria DEGRANDI-HOFFMAN, and Deborah Roan SMITH
is comprehensive and has not been challenged by anyone. However, it
refers to feral swarms and not commercial bees. Nobody has been
forthcoming on the exact issue of African bee genetics and its effect
on commercial beekeeping, except Bob, who says that it isn't a
problem. But no details are ever given.
In commercial apiaries where European matrilines
are maintained by requeening, factors contributing to the
introgression of African
paternal alleles may be the major determinants for the loss of
European traits.
In contrast, the retention of African characteristics in feral
populations may be shaped more by the loss of European matrilines
Bob seems to boil it down to 1) he can tell African bees by their
behavior, 2) the Lab testing is bogus, and 3) African bees can be
manageable. Anyone who has been paying attention realizes that this is
a circular argument which leads nowhere.
Bob has repeatedly referred to predictions that never came true, which
is a perfectly valid issue. However, what Schneider, et al, are saying
is in line with what you and Bob are saying, namely:
To date, the economic impact of the African bee on U.S. agriculture
has been less
severe than initially predicted, perhaps because of the slower rate of
spread, reduced
fitness in temperate climates, and a high level of preparedness based
on the
experiences of Latin America. However, it is difficult to evaluate the
impact of the
African bee per se because its effects within a given region have been
confounded
by mite-induced losses of managed colonies and the seasonal
importation of large
numbers of European colonies for pollination purposes. Nevertheless,
the major
negative influence of the African bee is expected to occur through its
effects on
beekeeping activities related to pollination. Exactly how these
effects are manifested
will depend on the degree to which European traits can be maintained in
colonized areas and the extent to which African bees can be integrated
into U.S.
agricultural practices.
SEE ALSO: "Nest usurpation, supersedure and colony failure contribute
to Africanization of commercially managed European honey bees in
Venezuela". J. Apic. Res.
* * *
EPIGENETICS
Regarding epigenetic effects and the inheritance of African behavioral
characteristics, that's a bit of a red herring, now isn't it Randy?
Admittedly, I haven't looked into that. But a brief glance shows that
Ernesto GUZMAN-NOVOA wrote on the "Paternal Effects on the Defensive
Behavior of Honeybees":
> Despite the complete lack of information on epigenetic phenomena in
honeybees, there are theoretical reasons that might lead us to expect
imprinting in this species.
Ernesto has repeatedly told me in person that Africanized bees are
unsuitable for real beekeeping, that they are utilized in Africanized
areas by necessity and not choice.
Peter Loring Borst
Ithaca, NY USA
+42.347999, -76.495239
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