Dave et al,

Many thanks for the discussion and comments.

You have highlighted the problems that I was going to touch upon with my 
less that journalistic skills!

Beekeeper sitting at home wishing to select better bees:
Biometric measurements when undertaken will result in data.
Simple; just measure, collate, compute and conclude.

Beekeeper sitting at home who has tried to select better bees:
These types of measurements may result in confusion - lots of data that 
is effectively useless.

Hives that produce required features are noted, maybe put together in an 
apiary and eventually picked over to give up their microscopic secrets.
Result: A scatter diagram that is a hit shotgun target at 500 metres.
Maybe a unimodal curve with an average of 50% plus or minus 20.

If selection has then to be based on more subjective items and scores 
and an individual is lucky, favoured characters will appear in the next 
generation. If not, they are diminished or lost.

As Dave appeared to suggest, most bees in colonies are hybrids to the 
n'th degree. Measurements that result from such stocks are not going to 
indicate classic shapes or angles.
Therefore for my bees, I need to gain a large indicative standard data 
base from which I can keep trying to replicate over different generations.
Not having the luxury of others to apply the maths for me - a text is 
required for those who wish to proceed on their own.

Allen introduced the situation relating to AHB - Bees with indicative 
behaviour traits but originally unknown biometrics.
Applying biometric analysis to an unknown organism is different to 
applying analysis to one that has never been studied. The former gives 
data that may be correlated to previously collected data, then 
positioned into a set. The latter requires a novel data set to be created.

When the "new" creature is then showing loose, unclear or overlapping 
characters - Biometric analysis maybe a liability if taken as the final 
arbitrator.

Conclusion IMHO - score card with 1 to 10 and biometric measurements 
maybe used in tandem as long as one has friends with stats. skills and 
they are willing to devote time to ones selection objectives.

Thanks again,

Peter

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