To check if honey bees are in an area ??

The only guarantee is II but I have reservations . Main concern being that Queen bees are promiscuous as a survival strategy , the insemination by up to 15 drones ensures that a large gene pool is banked in the workers from whence the next queen is produced.
All these workers will have differing strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that in changing environmental conditions , the particular "strengths" at the time will be passed on to the following queens?
Attempting to maintain this wide pool whilst indulging in II may not be as simple as it would appear, as our idea of the ideal won't match natures ideal ,with the necessary varying of the genetic make up within individual colonies.
Homogeny isn't the intended(evolutionary) strategy of the honeybee.
To sum up , I think your idea of sussing out the population before hand and flooding the area with drones from within the AMM type bee strain is the way to go.
VM


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I wish you every success with your breeding project. Ardnamurchan Peninsula sounds as though it has a harsh climate, in which case it is worth remembering that only AMM bees or their near relatives are likely to survive there. This natural selection should ensure that any feral colonies (if they exist) are not too far removed genetically from what you want to breed. Remember that Micheal Mac Giolla coda of Galtee Bee breeding fame, humped colonies up Galteemore to have them breed in an environment where only AMM could prosper. I think it is also important that you flood the area with your own drones. I shall now look at the map to see where Ardnamurchan is situated! :)

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Originally Posted by Kate Atchley

Thanks Drone Ranger. Good idea. I'll have a go at this but will need to find a way to protect the candy from the pinemartens (bolt it down?!).



Kate

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Wasn't that "Fat Boy Slim" Norman Cook one of the Pinemartens or was that housemartins ??.......

There might be fantastic drones there already certainly seems isolated enough
Could just stick an empty hive with some drawn comb up there and have look see who is visiting/ nosing around on a warmish day.

Sorry ... The Housemartins ... about as cute but nothing like as vicious as pinemartens!
Yer ... was thinking of some bait hives with an old brood frame + a little stores ... to see what can be seen.
Kate

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Originally Posted by wee willy

All these workers will have differing strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that in changing environmental conditions , the particular "strengths" at the time will be passed on to the following queens?
Attempting to maintain this wide pool whilst indulging in II may not be as simple as it would appear, as our idea of the ideal won't match natures ideal ,with the necessary varying of the genetic make up within individual colonies.

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I agree with you that it is not easy John, but an even greater mix can be achieved with II, as semen from lots of drones can be mixed (homogenized) from hundreds or even thousands of drones if desired, but much more than any queen would come across in any natural mating situation.

This an interesting little article.

Genetic ‘remix’ key to evolution of bee behaviour: York University research

The honey bee has the highest rates of recombination in animals – ten times higher than humans. Our study shows that this high degree of genetic shuffling has turned on the evolutionary faucet in parts of the bee genome responsible for orchestrating worker behaviour,” says Kent. “This can allow natural selection to increase the fitness of honey bee colonies, which live or die based on how well their workers ‘behave’.

http://news.yorku.ca/about-york-media-relations/

Thanx for the link Pete. I'll give it a coat of looking at :)

John


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Originally Posted by Kate Atchley

Here in the Ardnamurchan we are keen to set up an Amm apiary.

Our preferred site has no known managed honey bees within 5 miles or more. But how best to check if there are wild bees ... unless, that is, we see them foraging. That's a long shot as none of us local beekeepers live there.

If I put in mating hives surely the queens may simply fly their maximum (maybe 16 km or so) to find a mate and we are none the wiser about their immediate environment. But bait hives, yes certainly.

Any other suggestions?

Kate

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Hi Kate,
Some young queens up to mate and get to know which drones have paired the virgins. Important phenotypically pure Amm.
Greetings from North Rhine Westphalia, Horst

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Originally Posted by Kate Atchley

Sorry ... The Housemartins ... about as cute but nothing like as vicious as pinemartens!
Yer ... was thinking of some bait hives with an old brood frame + a little stores ... to see what can be seen.
Kate

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There is a possibility that you might find some real AMM will turn up in your bait hive and they might be better breeding material than you have at the moment.
I agree wholeheartedly with your cautious approach and not flooding the area with outsider drones etc
Probably don't need stores in the bait hives I think the smell of used brood comb would be enough draw them in

Plan 2 could be just take a couple of apideas with unmated queens up there and see if they get mated or not

I hope the Pinemartens don't attack the bait hives next
I've always fancied a Davy Crockett hat if they do.

Just set up 2 pairs of Apideas in the area in question. We've identified wild honey bees so we're now seeking confirmation! I will test the bees from which the mating hives came and, if successful, the progeny of the mated queens. The wild bees would have been resident for at least 15 years, we think, so they may well have reverted from a broad hybrid mix to more nearly pure Amm in response to the climate.

Will let you know!

There are feral colonies which are not AMM in two places within 5 miles of Ardnamurchan. Whether or not the drones from there would bother crossing the Sound is anyone's guess! However they are fit and healthy, due to lack of varroa, and might fancy a change of scenery!