RE: queens from another continent...
 
Queens made well locally always blow the doors off shipped queens,
if the queen producer knows  how to make queens.
 
Sure its great to use good stock in a breeding program, but a poorly made
blue -blood queen is never a match for a well fed, well mated local queen.
The optimum queens are made well from good stock!
 
Selecting stock from populations under pressure of parasites and disease
will always give you better results, IF your selection is accurate.
Adam
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