SC - honey vs. sugar

[Baaastard at aol.com]

Greetings,

I am not very informed about the sugar question, so I'll leave that to
someone else.

However, as far as honey is concerned, the bees can live in any of the
regions you mentioned.  As far as it goes, honey bees are differentiated to a
large degree(from the perspective of the beekeeper, not scientists) based
upon temperament.  Bees from the northern regions tend to be nicer, less
irritable.  Italian bees are the standard bee kept in this country and to a
large extent, around the world.  They have the gentlest temperament.
 Caucasian bees, originating in Eastern block countries are also relatively
friendly to the beekeeper.  German bees are not so nice.  

On the other hand, southern bees(Africa, Middleast) are downright mean.  Some
breeds will start stinging you if you walk within 40 yards of the hive.  They
are very difficult to raise; they require a beekeeper who is highly resistant
to pain.  I don't have sources for this, but I know that bees were kept in
the Middleast in hives that were essentially clay pots turned sideways.
 African bees have not been domesticated.  If you want the honey you chop off
pieces of the hive and pay the price for it.

This may be erroneous, but my guess would be, bees were kept much more
extensively in the north because it was a less harmful profession in those
areas.  One person could deal with more hives.

I hope this helped.

Michael Farrell