> ...So he swapped queens.  After a break of a few weeks to get a new set of young bees in each hive, the proportions of damaged mites reversed, following the queens.  Thus mite-damaging behavior is inherited and therefore selectable rather than learned behavior.

Interesting.  Was there increased mite drop associated with the mite damage?  Were any other measures made?  I realise this is a very limited and anecdotal test, but it is something we can all repeat quite easily on our own hives.

I recall there was an attempt to select for this somewhere in southeast Europe a decade or more back, but this is the first I have heard recently.
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