I am certainly no expert in the mechanics of
queen breeding, but I do have one question
that has nagged at me for years.

The question involves "regression to the mean",
and "polygenic traits".

The traits of value in beekeeping are complex -
much more complex than the simple examples of
"blue eyed versus brown eyed" offspring that
are used as examples in school.

One would expect that these traits are much
more likely to be not only polygenic, but
also independent of the "enviornmental factors"
often trotted out by genetics specialists
when cornered and questioned closely about
the mechanics of breeding for complex traits
in the absence of extreme changes in environment
to kill off most of the population not having a
specific mutation.

The old saw about "mutation-based advantages that
produce more offspring" really does not apply either
when bees are bred by humans.  Even more to the
point, everyone tries to prevent swarming, which,
for a bee colony, is "producing offspring".

So, if two very tall parents do not assure even taller
offspring, but instead produce offspring that vary, but
are "closer to the population mean" than the parents
(shorter, on average), how does ANY bee breeding strategy
assure sucess in the inheritance of traits that are "complex"?

I'm not concerned about simple inherited traits,
such as "blue eyed versus brown eyed", but those
that refuse to follow a "3:1 Mendelian ratio",
and tend to follow a continuous distribution.

If regression to the mean were not a serious limitation,
we would have long ago bred lab rats that had IQs
higher than the grad students charged with caring
for them.  :)

Anyone got a clue?


        jim (The check's in the mail.
               My dog ate my homework.
               Your spam filter must have deleted it.)

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