Trevor observes, “You often find that the traits that make this queen a
better queen are not heritable.  When you breed from her those traits are
not passed on.  Maybe it was a fluke arrangement of the genes.  They tell
me that it is the same with race horses.  A lot of those ones that are
exceptional do not pass those features onto their progeny.”

Though interesting, the above statement, I beleive, can use some
qualification.

One of the major difficulties in understanding anything scientific, in
general, and evolution, in particular, is the immense time period involved
in genetic mutation and its consequent inheritance.  (For example, 4.7
billion years is beyond anybody’s imagination no matter what clever
analogy he/she may employ to explain the primordial expanse.)

Similarly, our seasonal observations on exceptional or otherwise queen
performance are probably too limited to draw any meaningful conclusion.
In fact, a *century* of observation may not be long enough for us to talk
about the inheritability of certain traits.  (If certain genetic traits
are indeed not inheritable, however, how do we have Italians and
Carniolans with seemingly distinct traits?)  Although painfully slow,
incremental improvement in queen performance may be possible [punctuated
equilibrium anyone?].  It must be, however, also possible that an
exceptional queen and her traits are inheritable otherwise why do we
bother with SMR or NWC or AHB?  [The lab accelerates time, through
abbreviation of seasons, in a controlled environment, or so I would like
to believe]

Nature does perform its own experiments, as well, using such crude yet
cutthroat factors as heat, chill, fire, water, and starvation—-as well as
all sorts of pestilence [mites and beetles, for instance]-—let alone other
factors caused by omniscient human ants [pesticides and ill-management].
No controlled human experiment, nevertheless, could possibly involve that
many variables in one shot.  Hence my preference of feral bees.   Pressing
on this line of argument, then, all surviving species have succeeded
inheriting their successful traits.  Yes, Trevor, duds are everywhere,
especially among politicians it seems.  Mutation and its inheritance are
life-savers indeed since impermanence is the only thing permanent in
nature: if you don’t change, you die.


FWIW,


Yoon

Shawnee, OK

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