AHB
Propagating false information on Africanized Honey Bees
From the CFIA Risk Assessment – Spreading and establishment of AHB p.26
The comment “AHB colonies grow…travel long distances(about 170km)….” is attributed to Winston, 1992. A close examination of that source will not uncover the figure 170 km, and not in the context of reproductive swarming which is how the CFIA Risk Assessment is using the comment. Winston does give the figure of 160 km in reference to absconding swarms in areas of poor resources and cites two references, both dealing with beekeeping in Africa. One, (Fletcher, D.J.C 1978.), gives a figure of 7 km, but in reference to capensis not adansonii, (adansonii is the old name for scutellata) and another, 20 miles (anecdotal from local beekeepers). The second reference, Nightingale, J. 1976, is an interesting description of Nightingale’s practical experience in Kenya over 50 years. He mentions that bees do abscond in periods of food scarcity. He attaches no numbers to the characteristic.
So, first Winston misrepresents the facts where one “supporting” paper cites a different organism and anecdotal evidence a magnitude lower than the claim, and the other is a narrative of beekeeping in Kenya, with no pertinent figures whatsoever.
Scientific Literature as a Hazard to Canadian Beekeeping
Genotype vs Phenotype
The CFIA Risk Assessment discusses, in considerable detail, the means of the movement of the AHB genome into the gene pool of EHB. It mentions drones coming with packages, drones developing from laying workers, AHB colonies producing relatively more drones, the better mating success of AHB drones and the physiological preference of laying queens for AHB semen over EHB semen.
Africanized Honey Bees
Africanized bees have been present in the southern USA since 1990. The USDA has tracked the advance of AHB by state county ever since and annually publishes maps showing the distribution.
Prior to the first discovery (Texas), the USDA drew up maps predicting the timing and extent of the advance of AHB. One of their estimates predicted the arrival in Texas in 1988 and in North Carolina and northern California by 1995.
The Texas prediction was not far off, but the northern boundaries of the prediction have not been realized to date. That is, the prediction was the stuff of future babble.
They must have just missed it!
When you start reading through the references given in the CFIA Risk Assessment on the Importation of Package Bees from the USA, a curious thing starts to stand out. Points and research in the reference that are against resuming package imports from the US are included in the Risk Assessment, but points that would be in favour of bringing packages from the US seem to be overlooked. For example: p.26
- “… Africanized honey bee colonies grow faster, have a high rate of reproductive swarming and travel long distances (about 170 km) before selecting a new site to establish their nests, and AHB robs other colonies when nectar resources are low or lacking (Winston, 1992; Ellis & Ellis, 2012).
- ” Africanized honey bees could also become established in feral colonies, with the possible consequence of EHB queens of both feral and domestic populations being fertilized by AHB drones. Africanized bees may take over existing EHB colonies (Ellis & Ellis, 2012).”
Bee Science 