Subject: Re: Bee Varieties

From: [email-masked] (Steve Burt)
Date: 5 Dec 1994 02:15:20 GMT

Dear Charlie and fellow beekeepers!

     Domesticated bees?  As some of the other respondents have mentioned, 
there are a number of "races" of honey bees.  Even the so-called "killer 
bees" are in point of fact descended from an African race of Apis 
mellifera.  I would recommend The Hive and the Honey Bee, Chapter 2, 
HONEY BEES OF THE WORLD, as an excellent discussion of honey bee species 
and races.
     In my beekeeping experience, the only bees I encounter that are 
reasonably pure in coloration come from bee breeders.  The swarms I 
frequently hive and the bees I end up keeping after a few seasons of 
breeding are quite a mixture of Italian and Caucasian/Carniolan, as shown 
by the appearance of workers in vatious shades of tan, brown, or grey, 
and not the yellow of thoroughbred Italians. 
     I call these bees "urban feral," as they are the predominant wild 
type in my Detroit, Michigan suburban environment.  They are easily 
domesticated, seem quite hardy, and goo up the hives with substantial 
propolis.  I have resigned myself that if I am to breed my own queens, 
they will have this color within a season or two.  They produce ample 
honey and do not sting much, so they meet my needs in the populated 
environment where I live.  No doubt, their mixed color is the consequence 
of many attempts to establish Caucasian or Midnite Hybrid bees in 
suburbia, without perfect success.
                                                                          
   -- Steve Burt

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From: [email-masked] (Adam Finkelstein)
Date: 5 Dec 1994 02:43:48 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Steve Burt <[email-masked]> wrote:
>reasonably pure in couloration come from bee breeders.  The swarms I 

Couloration is not an accurate way to tell what race your bees are.
There are dark Italian bees and yellow caucasian bees out there.
The bees that seem to do the best around here have varying couloration, but
tend to be darker then "yellow bees"
Adam
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____________________________________________________________________________ 
Adam Finkelstein                     Price Hall 
Entomology                   VA Tech, Blacksburg, VA  24001-0325 
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