![]() ![]() We have also identified sources of 'black bees' from different parts of the British Isles, which show genetic diversity within the A.m.m. We have identified a number of key sites on the coast of Devon and on Dartmoor, which are relatively isolated from known populations of imported bees, where will be able to keep our stocks reasonably pure, with little danger of genetic contamination. We will be working with other experienced breeders to ensure sufficient genetic diversity, as well as monitoring the genetic profile of the stocks we work with. With your help, we hope to rebuild their wild populations, as well as encourage beekeepers to look after them in hives. To this end, we have launched a campaign to raise money to establish a number of breeding centres for Black Bees. Where breeding programmes have been established, numbers are increasing and we now believe it is time to re-introduce Black Bees more widely into the British countryside, which they helped to create. Nevertheless, her resilience and fortitude ensured that her genes survived and the Black Bee is still with us to this day throughout the country, in the genes of most of our honeybees, but especially in parts Cornwall, Devon, Wales, Yorkshire, the Isle of Man and parts of Scotland. ![]() The Black Bee was decimated by "Isle of Wight Disease", as it became known. However, she had an Achilles heel, which almost caused her extinction - a fatal susceptibility to viruses carried by an internal parasite that was imported along with Italian bees. All-in-all, she was - and is - a hardy bee. The Black Bee had several qualities that made her particularly suitable for life in Northern Europe: she could fly in wet and cool conditions she made enough honey to survive the winter, even in poor summers she was well-attuned to our seasons and knew how to eke out honey stores if the winter turned out to be longer than expected. Therefore, it can be said that she and the other pollinators are largely responsible for the wild flowers you see around you today. The Black Bee and her wild cousins were largely responsible for 'farming' our natural landscape, selecting wild flowers that provided them sustenance in the form of nectar and pollen, and in return, rewarding them with all-important pollination services. Its Latin name is Apis mellifera mellifera, and it was the dominant honeybee here since the last Ice Age, adapting to our changeable and unpredictable climate and thriving in all kinds of weather alongside our native bumblebees and solitary bees. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the British Isles were home to the European Dark Honeybee, which we now usually call the Black Bee. You can use this button to make a regular or one-off donation. Please support this Friends of the Bees project. ![]()
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