Correlations between different trais are being discussed in another message at BEE-L but he following and new paper (2014) is a different -but related- topic.

I always thought hygienic behavior (high levels) lead to less honey production due to inbreeding and less brood viability and then lower bee population levels.

am I right? ...maybe not...Advice, research papers or new and appropiate opinions are welcomed.

P. David Quesada
Laboratory of Honey Bee Pathology
Spain

Honey production and Varroa destructor infestation of
Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies with high
and low hygienic behavior

Carlos Aurelio Medina-Floresa, Ernesto Guzmán-Novoab, Carlos Fernando Aréchiga
Floresa, Héctor Gutiérrez Bañuelosa, Jairo Iván Aguilera Sotoa

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to compare the honey yields and levels of Varroa destructor between colonies of Africanized
honey bees (AHB) (Apis mellifera) showing high and low hygienic behavior (HB) in Mexico’s semi-arid high plateau.
The degree of HB of 57 colonies was measured using the liquid nitrogen (N2) brood-freezing technique. The colonies
were categorized into two groups: high HB (> 95 %) and low HB (< 50 % removal of freeze-killed brood at 48 h).
Honey production was evaluated in fall and spring and the level of Varroa on adult bees was determined before and
during the honey harvests. The colonies with high HB produced significantly more honey than the colonies with low HB
only during the spring crop (21.4 ± 4.7 vs 13.4 ± 5.0 kg; P<0.01). There were no significant differences between the two
groups of colonies for levels of infestation by V. destructor (P>0.05). These results suggest that apparently HB does
not have a major role in restraining the growth of Varroa populations in AHB. They also suggest that high levels of
HB could contribute to increase honey production in AHB colonies during times of the year with limited nectar flow.
 
FULL PAPER HERE http://www.tecnicapecuaria.org.mx/trabajos/201404032004.pdf


P. David Quesada
Laboratory of Honey Bee Pathology
Spain

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