Hi Jim,
You wrote: "> >I want to test this line of bees to determine how hygienic they are .......:
There are other methods that bees can use for survival of mites, hygienic behavior being one of them. Another that I am aware of is grooming behavior in which the bees groom the mites from the bodies of other bees, and chew the mites up so that they can't reattach themselves to a new host. I'm sure there are other behaviors which would be detrimental to mites but that is one of which I'm aware.
Randy mentioned disseminating progeny of your queens, i.e. queens. If you decide to raise queens for sale from this stock, I would be interested in trying a few down here in LA (Lower Alabama) to see how they work down here.
Mike in LA
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