>This is not the case for my production colonies.  This past winter they
declined a lot - particularly the ones that had the highest honey yields
last season.

This is a common phenomenon.  The strongest colonies can support a greater
parasite load, due to the "conveyor" of massive brood production replacing
the sick bees.  When fall comes, and broodrearing slows, the parasites
finally catch up.

This is one of the problems of only breeding from your best honey
producers--they may trade off high broodrearing for parasite resistance.

Randy Oliver

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