> But "experts" are driving the system from the outside....???   I will take the experience of any of the breeders who are picking the best of the best,  year in year out,  long before researchers tell us which ones are good

Charles,

If you read scientific papers you will see terms like "suggest" all the time. It's because science regard what we know as provisional. It implies that we are not "certain" about anything. 

Furthermore, Tarpy and Delaney are not trying to tell you what is good or not. They are trying to show what factors cause queen failure. Give them credit for doing the real science.

Beekeepers are notorious for playing follow the leader, and going on "what works for me." Science wants to figure what is really going on under the hood. They do not claim to be "expert beekeepers" any more than you claim to be a scientist.

The purpose of these discussions is to present all points of view and listen to them all. The truth cannot be found in any one view; it consists of all views combined to get the "big picture."

PLB

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