" without isolation, selection of bees is a trip to Fantasyland."

My 1972 version of ABC and XYZ...." on page 96 reports experiments done at the U of Minn aimed at increasing honey production.  From the data given it sure does not seem like rocket science to get very substantial gains in production in a few years.  The best hives were only modestly improved over a period of four years, but more importantly, the poorest two groups of hives at the start saw increased production of 4x and 8x during the period.  No new outside queens were brought in.  All that was done was raise queens from the best producing hives and requeening the poorest producing hives.  The best producing hives were requeened by supersedure.  Only 22 colonies were involved in the study so it is hard to argue isolation.

These results sure do not look like Fantasyland to me.  They simply look like the result of a responsible breeding program aimed at increased overall production.  Very simple model most any of us who raise our own queens could follow with ease.

Dick



" Any discovery made by the human mind can be explained in its essentials to the curious learner."  Professor Benjamin Schumacher talking about teaching quantum mechanics to non scientists.   "For every complex problem there is a solution which is simple, neat and wrong."  H. L. Mencken

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