On Sat, 6 Jan 1996, P-O Gustafsson wrote:
P-O  Gusttafsson wrote:
> >> Chemical disease control will eliminate the possibility for a natural
> selection
 
> >> against a better resistant stock.
> >> So are we really giving the genetic disease control a chance?
>
> Vince Coppola replied:
> >        Agree on chemicals interfering with natural selection but can we not
> >select for resistance even while using a chemical? For instance the
> >frozen brood test for hygenic behavior will work whether or not the
> >colony is being fed antibiotic.>
> P-O Gustafsson reply:
> The frozen brood test for hygienic bees is only one thing among many we
> need to improve the possibility to select for. The resistance to varroa for
> example could increase with not only hyg behaviour, but also the bees
> removing mites from each other as reported from central Europe. Other
> genetic traits can contribute to a better resistance, if given a chance to,
> like shorter brood cycle when fewer mites will mature in the cell.
>
        Yes , if you want a natural selection, but I believe we still can select
for varroa or tracheal resistance even while treating. This can be done
by selecting for a characteristic that has been shown to influance
resistance. As the frozen brood test in the above example we can also use
the "quick test" for tracheal mite resistance or select for criteria like
post capping time, grooming, infertility, ect., for varroa resistance.
        As an example, we were able to do our initial selection for
Tracheal mite resistance while we were treating with menthol. The "quick
test" results are not influanced by the treatment.
 
  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  x                                                              x
  x    Vince & Carole Coppola                [log in to unmask]   x
  x    Coppola Apiaries,                     (716)965-2904       x
  x    10220 Bradigan Rd.                                        x
  x    Forestville, N.Y. 14062                                   x
  x                                                              x
  x    Western New York Beekeepers Association                   x
  x                                                              x
  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx