> Okay, so how do we determine which traits are heritable in bees? With a lot of discussion previous about genetic, and epigenetic, how does one go to figuring them out?? There is no short answer to this question, and it needs to be answered _before_ one attempts to breed for a particular trait. Lionel Gonçalves lists these traits: Honey bee improvement went through several steps that were possible only after the development of artificial insemination techniques. Bees with desirable traits, such as learning ability, disease resistance, ability to pollinate specific plants, gentle behavior, overwintering ability, etc, became available through laboratory selection. Lionel Segui Gonçalves HONEY BEE IMPROVEMENT THROUGH BEHAVIORAL GENETICS Ann. Rev. Entomol 1978. 31:197-213 *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html