At 06:03 PM 9/20/2005, you wrote:
>  but the first two rounds of testing indicate
>that 60% of my colonies are hygienic..

Since the topic has come up several times over the past few days, I
should add that populous hives are more likely to test hygienic than
smaller hives.  Sue Cobey said the first time she tested her stock
many years ago for hygienic behavior the results were 80-90%, well
above what you would expect for stock that wasn't currently being
breed for hygenic behavor.   A retest of the same hives (with the
same queens) yielded a disappointing but expected 10%.  The
difference was simply the hives were booming with bees mid summer
during the first test and were much smaller fall populations for the
2nd.  So timing of the test can affect the results.

That's not to say your's truly aren't 60%, I have no idea of your
procedure or timing.  Its a very promising result though if you got
the result after repeat tests.

-Tim

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