Heres the results of the "Importance of honeybee characteristics",
ranking the listed characteristics in descending order of importance.
Rank was determined by the number of times the characteristic was a "1"
or a "2" in the returned forms. I had planned to do more with the results
but the response was not adequate.
Number of responses - 38
Number of useable responses - 29
Who responded:
Hobby beekeepers , <10 col. - 12
Sideliners , >10<300 col. _ 15
Commercial , >300 col. _ 2
Honey producers - 27
Pollinators - 6
Queen producers - 4
from:
North America - 23
Europe - 6
U.S.A. - 19
Canada - 4
U.K. - 3
Germany - 2
other - 1
Characteristic Rank score
Honey production 1 13
Varroa resistance 1 13
Tracheal Mite resistance 2 11
Winterability 2 11
Brood viability 3 6
Aggressiveness 4 3
Swarming (lack of) 5 1
Pollen 5 1
Chalkbrood 5 1
Comb Stability 6 0
Color 6 0