> ...So he swapped queens. After a break of a few weeks to get a new set of young bees in each hive, the proportions of damaged mites reversed, following the queens. Thus mite-damaging behavior is inherited and therefore selectable rather than learned behavior.
Interesting. Was there increased mite drop associated with the mite damage? Were any other measures made? I realise this is a very limited and anecdotal test, but it is something we can all repeat quite easily on our own hives.
I recall there was an attempt to select for this somewhere in southeast Europe a decade or more back, but this is the first I have heard recently.
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