Here's an example of such a study, although it didn't continue long enough > The survival and performance of 597 honey bee colonies in 20 apiaries across Europe. Started in October 2009, 15.7% of the colonies survived without any therapeutic treatment against diseases until spring 2012. The average survival period ranged from 80 days to 711 days. On average, colonies with queens from local origin survived 83 days longer compared to non-local origins. Büchler, et al. The influence of genetic origin and its interaction with environmental effects on the survival of Apis mellifera L. colonies in Europe. Journal of Apicultural Research 53(2): 205-214 (2014) © IBRA 2014 *********************************************** 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