From: randy oliver <[log in to unmask]>
>>It is my sense that some folks buying these breeders don't understand this,
and think they are starting with "resistant VSH genes
>I will soon be writing a series on the biology behind bee breeding, which
may help...
Hi Randy and all,
I have to say that when I've tried to have this discussion with others, there are a few that agree, but most either get angry (oftentimes these are folks who feel they are going the most "natural" route and assume that I would support a "locally adapted breeding program" based on bringing in 1 or 2 VSH breeders), or they simply don't understand, as there is so much good publicity and "buzz" around VSH and HYG breeding programs.
I don't think I've read anything either online, in the books, or in the journals criticizing this approach and pointing out the pitfalls. I really meant what I said, "Correct Away!"....what I wrote is my current understanding and analysis, and I'd love to hear others thoughts and criticisms on the subject.
There is an important distinction to make. If one wants to buy (or rear) a queen to place in a hive for production (of honey or bees), they care about how that queen will perform for the next year (maybe 2) until she is replaced..this is a "colony level" concern, and for this purpose, VSH daughters may well be the way to go (effective and somewhat predictable). This is where many are at, and there is nothing wrong with this approach, but it is a short term fix, requiring new breeder queens to be purchased every few years (and let's face it, testing for VSH is much more difficult and less exact than testing for HYG).
How many folks actually test their hives for VSH? What (of the many) methods are being used? How large an operation is needed for this to be feasible? When the VSH traits become diluted through a few generations, don't most just purchase another breeder (rather than testing and selecting for VSH from their own stock)?
In contrast (and what I'm more interested in) are population level concerns and improvements. This requires bees that are robust (can deal with a wide variety of challenges and opportunities), and requires a large number of traits available in the gene pool, probably none but what the bees find most essential present in terribly high concentrations. Production is probably not as great under ideal circumstances, but probably not as bad under less than ideal circumstances.
The above is fairly obvious, but I present it here because it is such an important distinction, and rarely discussed. I think that once one accepts that their interests are often at the colony level (and they often are...even for smaller breeders) it makes the population level concerns a bit easier to understand.
In any case, I'd like to discuss this here rather than waiting for your article :)
deknow
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