On 7 Aug 99, at 9:47, John Partin wrote:

> I would hope that good queen producers look for good stock all the time. I
> would hope that good queen producers would also use AI as a very important
> and nesesary tool in their operation.
>   If a queen procucer told me that he was not searching for  good brood
> stock, all the time,  from the area that I keep bees in and that he was
> not using AI to get this brood stock, then I do not think that I would use
> his queens.
>    You do not know what you have if you do not use AI and you do not
> know how they will perform if not tested in the area where you beekeep.

What an idealist viewpoint. How many bee breeders have or even want a
laboratory alongside their bee yard to perform AI. Even the most
simple set up requires spotless hygiene, hardly acheivable under
normal beekeeping.
        For example we use a setup on a regular picnic table at the end of
our yard, and use the sun as our light source.
        Needless to say we have a very intense selection process in the
selection of our Queen and Drone mothers
>     I still say it makes little difference where the queen is raised but
> it does make a lot of difference where the genes are from and how good of
> a job the queen raiser does.
        Here's a point I can agree with. I have advocated this for many
years. You should talk to our customers in Alaska if you need verifi
cation of this fact. Bees do better in the climate they're bred for.



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