Conserve Local Bee Species and Subspecies

Bee World • VOL 98 • December 2021• Page 109 © 2021 International Bee Research Association Conserve Local Bee Species and Subspecies In the first article of this issue, Victoria Viert, Jakob Wegener and Kaspar Bienefeld from Institute for Bee Research in Hohen Neuendorf, Germany, present an article on Europe’s first honey bee gene bank. The German bank is dedicated to native species only and, namely, the dark European honey bee Apis mellifera mellifera, which has been largely replaced by another subspecies. Because Apis mellifera carnica has been bred in Germany for many decades, permission was granted to include this non-native subspecies as well. So far, so good, but from here on out, the real brainwork starts. How should the genetic resources best be selected, and how should they be collected to preserve optimal quality, among other questions? As shown in Germany, regional beekeepers’ associations could contribute to this decision by being part of a formed committee.