Bob writes

> 1. researchers are a small group of people which for the most part do not greatly influence the beekeepers which produce the queens used in the U.S.

> The beekeeper which keeps bees for a living could care less about many traits certain *researchers* feel are important.

Hmm. Seems to me that the Starline was developed by researchers, trying to make a bee that was a good honey producer. Not interested? Then there was the AFB resistant line, and the varroa sensitive hygiene line, and the Russian bees which could resist varroa. Not interested? 

And what about Warwick Kerr? What was he researching? A bee that could thrive in Brazil? Who would want that? Just what traits do these *researchers* care about that the beekeeper who keeps for a living could care less about? Would you care to offer some specific examples? 

Frankly, I am appalled at the fact that the lines developed by Harbo, Spivak, Rinderer, etc. are not adopted by beekeepers generally and instead they keep buying Golden Italians from who knows who, because they're so purty.

plb

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