Hi all
Look at queen breeder's ads, the majority of them sell more than one breed, typically Italians and Carniolans raised in the same neighborhood. There is no effort to isolate drones, only the mothers are selected. Here is info from one of the large producer's website:

Italian queens form the backbone of OHB. We choose our breeder queens based on the hive's performance in honey production, gentleness, brood-rearing viability, and overall ability to overwinter healthy and heavy. In addition, OHB has worked with the "Tech Transfer Team," developed by world-renowned entomologist Marla Spivak, since before its official launch in an effort to identify and maintain desirable traits in our current stock. We've infused the "Minnesota Hygienic" and the "VSH" traits into our Italian stock, in an effort to enhance disease and mite resistance or tolerance.

Carniolans are known for their winter hardiness, rapid spring buildup, and exceptional honey production. They show excellent resistance to tracheal mites and are great comb builders. OHB has sources for instrumentally inseminate breeder queens (Strachan Apiaries “New World Carniolan”). The queens we produce from these breeders are open-mated with all of our stock for genetic diversity and hybrid vigor.

Saskatraz hybrids are being produced in Northern California using virgin queens from diverse families of Saskatraz breeder queens and open mating them with unrelated drone populations in the Orland area. These queens produce colonies with genetically diverse workers. This diversity results in increased vigor, and analyses of hybrid queens in Canada is showing fast spring build up and increases in honey production. Attention to fall stores for wintering and in the spring is necessary.

comment:
they make no secret that only the breeder queens are selected, so what you get is a "hybrid." Of course, they have added all the right stuff so that whatever comes out in the end is exactly what you were looking for.

PLB

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