Honeybee races - nature or nurture?

[The Drone Ranger]

What I believe is that by selecting for certain behaviour like non stinging we are not losing anything
Bees are quite capable of still stinging they just are more tolerant
If they were born without a sting then that would be a change in their genetic makeup a mutation
However that's not the case, nothing has changed in the bees genetic make up, just how the genes are activated or expressed
Just because we choose non propolising bees to propagate from doesn't mean they lose the ability to collect and use propolis
They just don't do it or are not inclined to under normal circumstance

This is a study that might be relevant to the subject
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0916160845.htm

hope that's not too boring
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