> Peter , I dont detect from the quotes above any enmity toward preserving 
> the Old British bee(I assume, correctly I hope, this is the AMM you are 
> referring to, but even if I am wrong my reasoning still holds)
> In fact he is encouraging the preservation of the various strains. I cant 
> imagine him desiring the loss of any of the genetic richness of any 
> honeybee anywhere.

Hi John

Although he praised the black bee for its comb building - which is 
particularly good for producing comb honey, especially heather - he really 
did not have a good word to say for them.

He may have suggested the preservation of the various strains, but his 
actions have certainly made life very difficult for those of us trying to do 
just that for A.m.m!  He made South Devon into a Buckfast dominated area by 
his practice of giving away queens to flood the area with his drones.  That 
legacy still has an impact on those just over the border in Cornwall who are 
fighting to save their local stocks of A.m.m.  But it is not just in the 
Southwest - so many in the UK have Buckfast (or their descendants) and are 
spreading unwanted genes.

What hypocrisy for a hybridist to suggest that others should be preserving 
the native bee while he was working against them by importing so many exotic 
races.

Best wishes

Peter 

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