Regarding selection of queens, if you have no idea why queens are being superseded, how could you possibly select against it?
If you are selecting queens that simply "lived a long time" -- how would that address the actual problem (queen supersedure)?
Further, productivity and long life span are not the same things at all. Finally -- without isolation, selection of bees is a trip to Fantasyland.
For more info, see:
Phillips, Mary Geisler, and Ellen Edmonson. "Honey bees and fairy dust." (1926).
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