a couple of randy Oliver snips followed by > my comments..

Since you have listed 5 traits to select for, if you were to select from
the top 50% of the breeding population for each of the 5 traits
independently, you'd wind up being able to breed from 3% of your breeding
population.  Simple math 0.5 to the 5th.

> I suspect (need to consult a statistician and a genetics guru) that if you consider polyandry and also selecting for the drone side of the mating that the math would be somewhat more complex than that! Drawing on long forgotten classes in statistics and genetics.. Your simple math model would work for Mendel type genetics but not so much for bees.

And I wouldn't necessarily select for hygienic behavior

> Since this trait is quantifiable I would certainly place this first on my list.. a hive that does not keep the hive spotless and deal with disease will not live long without considerable beekeeper attention, time and resources. Add to this (and a somewhat complimentary trait) some moderate level of propolis is imho a positive trait to consider <early spring time this shows up visually so it is not that difficult to identify.

> Having observe in the field one of the real pros in bee selection for queen rearing purpose selection is seems to be a real nuanced skill set. 

>My own personal style is much more about culling and selection based on the long term survival of hives in a non treatment setting.  All new hives I establish have the queens marked so it is not difficult to determine the age of queens for both the drone and queen side of the mating... After that much of my own selection process is deleting hives who have some trait I do not like.

> Lastly I should point out that we have long known that honey as a crop represents only a small fraction of the total economic value of a honey bee. Certainly any hive that is to survive without lots of beekeeper added syrup need to put up an adequate level of honey, but this trait falls way down on my list as a desirable trait. Basically those that do not cull themselves.

Gene in Central Texas...      

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