~kc

Interesting article, it’s fascinating that there is evidence that queens preferentially choose africanized sperm first!?!? What? Gah!

As for range, the local college here (apiculture program entomologist) suggested that the range could extend to Canada based on the adaptability shown by africanized, established colonies that had migrated into mountainous regions at surprising elevations. That being said, we’ll see, one way or another. :)

Thanks for your comment.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/mar04/bees0304.htm

So, the only calming going on has to do with individual hives. Remember, AHB’s are already the result of an initial experiment wherein a European queen was artificially-inseminated by a fully-African drone. They’re not behaving differently than they would in another location. This trait of swarming and then taking over existing colonies is just a part of their standard behavior.

In addition, we understand little about how far the bees can honestly travel northward. In the southern hemisphere they only range south as far as 34 degrees S. That corresponds with Atlanta, Georgia in the northern hemisphere, but further south than that there’s proportionately little land mass and human population drops off. As of 2012, they’d already been found in both Tennessee and Oklahoma. It’s true that the bees don’t overwinter well, but the larger land mass and ready accessibility of heated buildings in the U.S. may provide housing for them to continue their northern trek much farther than they they could in the southern hemisphere.

AHBs do show increased resilience to varroa mites, and have been studied for this. They are susceptible to CCD, it just doesn’t get reported here because we don’t keep them in the U.S. Beekeepers in Brazil have reported CCD in some hives.   The biggest advantage that AHBs have over EHBs is simply their trait of usurping existing colonies. EHBs currently have a much broader range of travel and the ability to safely overwinter in fully frozen climates. Right now the EHBs are losing the battle because they’re not just battling the AHBs, but also: pesticides, mites, viruses, fungi, etc. They really need us to give them every consideration.

Keeping a few hives is easy, keeping a few hundred is much more difficult, especially when you need to keep them distributed throughout your orchards.

The projections I have seen have shown a northern boundary that closely approximates the Canadian border. It’s an estimate. But yeah… all the way up the continental USA. Yippee! ;) And with warming trends, probably deep into Canada. And if they keep interbreeding with European bees… they could be more adaptable to those colder climes anyway.

Resilent? Africanized bees are superior (evolutionarily speaking) to European honey bees in almost every conceivable way. In some ways that is a good thing, in others… not so much. Great for bees, bad for humans. :)

People were practicing migratory beekeeping long before the advent of modern agriculture.

The bees here reproduce more quickly and swarm more often.  I was told all domestic beekeeping in the area involved the Africanized bees.    Is it merely my limited observations that these bees more resilient (there are a lot of them and disturbing a hive by accident is a worry) or are they suffering from the same problems as honeybees in general?

Wrong: http://www.youris.com/Environment/Bees/Bees_restored_to_health_in_Italy_after_this_springs_neonicotinoidfree_maize_sowing.kl

There was a secondary source already implicating the neonicotinoids before the RFID and other studies came out this year: Decourtye and Devillers (2010) “Ecotoxicity of Neonicotinoid Insecticides to Bees” in Insect Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors ed. by Steeve Hervé Thany (New York: Springer/Landes) Chapter 8, pp. 85-95, on p. 86 http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-1-4419-6445-8#section=839220

In addition, neonicotinoids do not wash away after treatment or weaken over time. Unlike some other pesticides, they end up in the soil and are then taken up by the roots of plants they’re used on to later express in the leaves and nectar. So bees don’t need to be present for a spraying to be killed. They can just sip from a treated plant. I believe that it’s important to note that – while removing neonicotinoids may not save the bees – using them will definitely keep killing them. 

The bees are under threat from many sources, some natural some manmade, and each chink in their armor brings us closer to a world without them. When we have the ability to recognize a threat (as we did with the Varroa mite) we can’t waste time debating if it’s THE threat that will tip the balance in the bees’ favor. We simply need to shut it down.

The bees were, in part, designed to withstand higher temperatures like the ones found in deserts – remember, they have some of the traits of bees from Africa. So, they prefer warmer climates. It most likely has nothing to do with what they might not exposed to there. Back in 2009, they were already well-established in Florida, where the citrus crops provide lots of food. As of 2012,they’ve been confirmed in both Tennessee and Oklahoma. They’ll keep reestablishing when the area they’re in can’t tolerate any more bees.

What aren’t the bees exposed to here?  Disease?  Chemicals in corn syrup?  A lack of exposure to pesticides as they mainly harvest nectar from mesquite trees in the wild?

There must be a predator for the Varroa

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say two words to you. Just two words.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Cane toads.

More science is needed, and that takes time. You cannot reach a conclusion because someone has a press deadline.

I think the deadline was about still having some bees left.