> But what if you have no brood that is 'infested' which can be inserted into VSH colonies?  ARE you out of the 'game' when it comes to selecting for VSH?

I have never seen a hive that didn't have mites. How are you checking your mite levels? 

Hygienic behavior is probably related to the odor sensitivity of certain strains of bees. 

Acute odor sensitivity should enable them to detect any sort of disease in the larvae or pupae.

The use of frozen or pin killed brood is a surrogate for diseased brood; there may be some variation in the ability to detect different disorders (like some people are more sensitive to certain odors than other people, but odor sensitivity may be weak or strong in them as well)

PLB

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