SICAMM Statement for the conservation of AMM

[Keeper]

Current Situation

Existing populations of dark European honey bees in Europeare either:

(1) Endangered by imports. Local populations of the dark European honey bee are largely intact across much of the
country.

(2) Viable in reserves. Local dark European honey bee populations remain viable in some reserves in the country but are threatened.

(3) Strongly hybridised. Dark European honey bee populations have been replaced, or severely hybridized, by non-native subspecies and artificial hybrids. This is the situation in most of the area of the original distribution of the dark European honey bee.

(4) Wild populations in forests. Fortunately, some dark European honey bee populations still exist, locally, as free-living colonies, in large forested areas with few economic interests for commercial beekeepers.

Guidelines for tools for conservation.

(i) Strategic ban on non-native imports in all scenarios. A ban on the import of non-native subspecies would be a hugely beneficial step forward for the sustainable recovery of the dark European honey bee. The large genetic variation still present in dark European honey bee populations makes them potentially more able to adapt to a changing climate and to become resistant against new pathogens and parasites.

(ii) Creation of reserves, or conservation areas, for the dark European honey bee. When all the beekeepers on a homogeneous territory cooperate, a reserve or conservation area can be created, using the specifications of FedCAN (https://fedcan.org). This conservation programme can be implemented at a site where the dark European honey
bee communities are still present. A central area where only dark European honey bees are kept, is surrounded by a buffer zone, where non-native bees can be replaced by dark European honey bees produced locally. In this way a population of around 150 colonies can be maintained, whose diversity can be preserved under natural selection, in the sanctuary at the centre.

(iii) Restoration programme to increase the percentage of dark European honey bee alleles outside of reserves or conservation areas. This could be a process of distributing young dark queens to interested beekeepers, thus promoting drone producing colonies in an area. Dark European honey bees used in restoration programmes should originate from
areas comparable in climate and flora.

(iv) Promotion of free-living dark European honey bee populations existing in the wild. Dark European honey bee populations must be preserved in European forests. This is important for the evolution of resistance to new diseases, parasites and to adapt to other environmental changes.

(v) Free distribution of genetically verified dark European honey bee colonies in and around buffer zones. This approach supports the expansion of alleles of the native subspecies, encourages local beekeeper engagement, and creates a living protective ring around core conservation areas. Distribution programs should be accompanied by training, basic record-keeping, and periodic monitoring of genetic integrity.

SICAMM Statement Introduction

After the last ice age, the Dark European honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, (also known as the
black or brown bee) one of the subspecies of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), extended
naturally its range across Northern Europe. For the last one million years, it has evolved
independently of other subspecies, except for A.m.iberiensis, which shared the same refuge during
the last glaciation period....

Read the whole SICAMM Statement, download it here