Bee breeding is of course a continuous process, and one
should not underestimate the practical difficulties of maintaining a
desired strain of bee. In addition, inbreeding in any organism is in
the long term, harmful, and due to their haplodiploid nature, honey
bee populations lave less genetic diversity than that of many other
groups of insects. Leslie Bailey of Rothamsted pointed out some
years ago (Bailey, 1999) that much of the honey bee's inherent
resistance to disease stems from its genetic diversity, so that breeding
for resistance to one pest or disease may increase susceptibility to others.

Inevitably, the process of bee breeding is
time consuming and labour intensive, but it is to be hoped that we
can significantly improve the hygienic behaviour of our own strain of
bee. The degree to which such improved bees will ever be widely
used is, however, dependant on the development of a significantly
greater queen rearing industry than currently exists in the UK.

Norman L Carreck, Breeding honey bees for varroa tolerance
In book: Varroa - still a problem in the 21st century?
International Bee Research Association

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