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Article: Attack of the clones; African honeybees.(Cape honeybees invade beehives and create clones)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 20, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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African honeybees huddle against the invader
South Africa's farming industry is threatened by a genetic curiosity
WHILE humanity agonises over the potential hazards of cloning, another species is facing its own bizarre clone wars. In South Africa, the African honeybee is being devastated by invasions of self-replicating clones--all descendants of a single, long-deceased individual--from another honeybee subspecies. This odd case of social parasitism, ironically brought about by human intervention, is proving both a bane to South African agriculture and a fascinating case for biologists to ponder.
Societies of bees, ants and wasps, in which a ...