Dear Teresa,
 
I know those tests where you kill some larvae (by freezing or with a
needle) and count the time until the dead brood is torn out of the
combs. But what do you mean with "resistant to AFB". I personally doubt
whether this can be find out by those tests. The only thing what you can
test by this way is the cleaning behavior of that hive or breed nothing
else. This tells you nothing special about "resistance" to AFB, varroa
mites or anything else.
 
> I just want to pass on an idea given by Susan Cobey, to test resistance
> of bees to AFB. As you might know, the original test involved cutting a
> square of comb with capped brood, then put it in the freezer and then
> return it to the hole left in the original comb. If the bees cleaned all
> the dead brood, they were "resistant" to AFB, if not, they would be
> highly susceptible.
> The modification consists of pinning the square of brood, so to kill the
> larvae, but without the neccessity to remove and put back the comb.
> This way, she can select for resistant bees to AFB.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Reimund
Beekeeper from Germany (Bavaria)
Queen Breeding of Carniolan Bees
Insemination Station