> After being detoured for a few years, I've come back to this tried and 
> true
> selection process, and am in complete agreement!

Interesting.  When I started beekeeping 30 years ago we had a real mix of 
mongrels.  I started by breeding from the most productive, but found that 
the offspring rarely lived up to the mother's performance.

Since I started concentrating on A.m.m. and selecting on the basis of a 
large number of traits, not only do I have gentle, thrifty bees, but the 
average crop has increased by nearly 50%.  The assessments and record 
keeping have been hard work, although I get great satisfaction from it, but 
it does seem to have paid off.

Best wishes

Peter
52º11'40"N 1º40'25"W 

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