Hi Gene You mentioned a bit about being interested in these bees and the possibility of keeping them. They are from what I have read rather unfriendly, building up to very large swarms. Individual bees live longer and the actual covering of a beehive is made with bees (bee screen). Defence strategies include dropping of handfuls of bees to defend a hive. Keeping these bees anywhere else in the world must be a bad idea, given how mving A.cerana around has dstroyed and made less profitable a lot of the worlds honey industry through transplantation of A.cerana's little friend varroa to A.mellifera. We know not what they carry, and it is not worth the risk given how difficult they would be to keep. With A dorsata one would have a big tree with bees on it. Every change of season, the bees would migrate up to 500km away, and then migrate back to a simlar area. This is difficult to control. Keep well Garth --- Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries 15 Park Road Apis melifera capensis Grahamstown 800mm annual precipitation 6139 Eastern Cape South Africa Phone 27-0461-311663 On holiday for a few months Rhodes University Which means: working with bees 15 hours a day! Interests: Fliis and bees Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post in no way reflect those of Rhodes University.