All fur coat and no knickers ...

[GRIZZLY]

What's wrong with Colonsay genetics ? - lack of availability perhaps.

[mbc]

What's wrong with Colonsay genetics ? - lack of availability perhaps.

Nothing as such, its just that my interest in native bees is that when they are locally adapted I believe they offer the best option for sustainable yet profitable beekeeping. I dont see that Amm bees from Scotland, Ireland, France or Norway are going to be any more adapted to my West Wales conditions than carniolans or buckfasts. If every area has champions of their own local variety of Amm then it promises a healthy and diverse gene pool for future generations to work with, all of us going for the same pure Amm bees, however good they are, will leave an impoverished gene pool.

[drumgerry]

With respect MBC I disagree. You're assuming that every area has their own local variety of AMM. If bees in an area are AMM who's to say it's the original local variety? Jon will point you to a video of French AMM being installed in Aberdeenshire in the 1930s. If those made it into the Maud strain which is not impossible then they'll form part of the Colonsay gene pool as well (please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe some of the Colonsay bees originated in Bernard's Maud strain). With all of the bee imports and bee movements I think we live in a world of very fluid bee genetics.

I have no qualms about sourcing AMM breeding stock from outwith my area as there is none present in my area (ALL of the beekeepers that I know of (and there aren't a lot of us so I know almost everyone) in this area have bees brought in from outside). My line in the sand is that I'd stop short at bringing it in from mainland Europe but Colonsay or Galtee are fine with me. And give me those over Carnies and Buckies every time. Bees with their origins in our northern and western parts of Europe will win out over more exotic strains every time in my opinion.