> Interesting thread. My question is how variable are the queens from one 
> supplier? We seem to imply that we will get consistency.

Always a good question.  I have to keep reminding people about the variation 
in tracheal resistance.  See 
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/articles/tracheal.htm

Recent conversations with Baton Rouge indicate that nothing has changed much 
since the original survey.  Ya pays your money and takes your chance.  There 
are good producers and there are less good producers, all selling queens to 
you and me.

I'm sure it is not much different with varroa resistance, but I do know that 
when I regularly raised the question with my supplier (A supplier of very 
good queens BTW), he squirmed a bit and made sure he had some progress or 
action to report the next time he was asked that question.

Put yourself in the seller's shoes.  If your customers always ask if the 
honey is organic, local, etc., does that not put some pressure on you to 
conform to their wishes?  Of course one response is to simply lie, but 
nonetheless, the pressure is there and if conforming for a queen producer 
just means buying a few VSH breeders and introducing the genes into your 
operation or getting some resistant stock from another breeder so you can 
say you are doing something and lie a bit less, you'll do it, even if your 
heart is not in it.

My slant is stop worrying about how perfect the products are, but rather to 
+start+ pushing in the right direction, and all the while work at raising 
the question over and over.  Along the way, opportunities will arise to 
verify the quality of the stock.  After all you are monitoring regularly, 
right?




 

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