Scot, I didn't find the article very well thought out, but since you asked for opinions, here are a few. "Our area of the West Coast is one of the few places on this planet that enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Most of the bees we have here are of Italian descent (Apis mellifera ligustica). These bees are very well adapted to our climate, to the rhythm of our seasons, to our flora. Over countless centuries, they have evolved in similar conditions before being introduced here, 150 years ago. Since then, these bees have been instrumental in turning California into one of the world's most famous regions for agriculture and beekeeping." Well, that's just wrong. It was the German Black bee, Apis m. m. that was brought out here 150 years ago, and that factual error destroys the foundation Serge builds his argument on. And back when we had lots of ferral swarms, they were more likely than not to be German than Italian any way. "Russian queens, on the contrary, have evolved in Eastern Siberia. The conditions that placed constraints on their evolution and on their natural selection in that part of the world are almost at the other extreme of those that we have here." So? The same applies to me, since I'm of British extraction and fair skinned. I just wear a hat, and I'm doing fine, just like the Russian hives I have. "At this point, I must ask a series of questions and raise a red flag: What will be the outcome of the cross between Russian bees, which are adapted to cold regions, and Africanized bees, when they meet in California?" I imagine the same as what happened with the ferral black bees and the AHB in Southern California and other places. They seem to want to sort out back into "pure" strains due to mating stratigies, with some areas going AHB and others not. "Isn't this the perfect recipe to extend the domain of Africanized bees to the entire North American continent?" No, genetics don't work that way. If you breed a husky with a chihuahua you don't necessarily get a big naked dog that stands the cold well. "Can you imagine the consequences of having Africanized bees all over the U.S. and Canada? Did the scientists who went looking for Russian bees anticipate this scenario? If they did, what was their plan to prevent it from happening? Or did they even care if it happened?" You need to be careful there. You are making many assumptions, some of which are demonstrably false, and based on the line of reasoning that proceeds from these assumptions you insinuate illogical and irresponsible thinking on the part of these scientists. "Africanized Honey Bees are already the result of a similar experiment that went out of control: Nearly fifty years ago, a well meaning Brazilian scientist imported African bees to South America. They escaped from his custody, interbred with the gentle European bees, and then spread far and fast to reach Texas, Arizona and California a few years ago. Do we want to compound the mishap? Do we want to draw the so-called "killer bees" further North?" Having kept "killer bees" for 8 years in the Richtersvelt district of South Africa, where they are the only native kind of honey bee, I can tell you that they do just fine in cold areas, and I'm sure you all will be making aquaintance with them soon, especially if you select local bees for mite resistance. "With all the respect that is due to the scientists for their good work, they sometimes err. The importation of Russian bees might be one of these mistakes." It could be, but number one they are already here, and number two, you'll have to give better reasons than you have for stopping the importations of Russian bees. "I can understand that beekeepers located in areas that endure long and harsh winters are interested in having Russian queens, but I cannot imagine that it would make any sense to have these bees here, in California! Carrying colonies through cold winters is not a difficulty we have to face in our climate." What if they do better? That's a good reason. "According to numerous reports, Russian bees are so different from our Italians that the methods of managing beehives have to be adjusted or modified for them. Russian bees are descended from the German black bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, which is notorious for its aggressive behavior, its promptitude at issuing swarms, and its nervousness on the frames. It takes as many as ten days for a Russian queen to be accepted by a hive. Do we really want to introduce these traits into our local bee gene pool?" I thought the Russians were A. m. carnica? But even so, with Eurasia one continent, how do you figure which is descended from which? And again you are forgetting that for years the German black bee has been the basic West Coast ferral bee, and the first commercial bee. "Again, let's not forget that some of our local bees have developed tolerance or resistance to varroa mites. Let's select and propagate these! All we need to do is to open our eyes, look at our hives, and at the feral colonies that survive without treatment." If you want a sure fire way to establish "killer bees" in the Mediterrainian areas of the West Coast, you just described it. Tim Vaughan :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::