I am wondering why there are few if any queen breeders advertizing
hygienic stock for sale?  We have heard a lot about the virtues of
hygienic behavior in bees, and now references are being made to
hygienic behavior and varroa resistance.  Why isn't someone
breeding for and advertizing these traits?
 
As an aside, I checked a number of colonies for hygienic behavior
one summer, and since the yards were in a very remote location, we
chose to freeze the brood right in the comb rather than cut and
replace sections of comb.  We used a circular cookie cutter to
isolate a section of brood by pushing the cutter down into the
comb, we then added about an inch of crushed dry ice and allowed
it to sit for five or more minutes to freeze and kill the brood.
One rather interesting result was that we were surprised at how
long it took to freeze capped brood.  The combination of capping
and dead air space above the brood served as a very effective
insulator.  One result is I am not quite as concerned about
chilling brood during spring inspections now, though I still try
to be careful not to leave combs out too long.
 
Bill Lord
Louisburg, NC
--
William G Lord
E-Mail  : wglord@franklin
Internet: [log in to unmask]
Phone   : 919-496-3344
Fax     : 919-496-0222