> I have no problem with the scientific process but selective breeding in livestock and even bees existed earlier than the modern scientific study. My point is that not everything that takes place in the selection of beneficial traits in bees is determined by a scientific study, though some do.

You are quite right, especially with honey bees. We do not have a handle on how behaviors are passed from one generation to the next. It may be possible to inherit specific traits but this not the same as having a vigorous colony, which is what most people want. This may be a synergy of traits inherited in a unique combination, which cannot be exactly duplicated in a colony raised from the first colonies eggs. 

I suggest the real test of a quality in bees is if you can mail the queens to somebody in another part of the country and they are able to take advantage of whatever quality it is you are advertising. If it cannot be passed on then the trait(s) you claim to have bred for are simply not heritable and probably have to do with location, or management, or some such other thing. I have purchased queens from Bee Weaver and so far, they perform as advertised.

PLB

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