In a message dated 96-03-05 12:40:22 EST, [log in to unmask] (David Eyre) writes: >To continue this one step further, if I may. If your statement is correct, >and no doubt you're right "Why do we cull the Queen?" That's a bit like >killing the messenger if you don't like the news! This practice has gone on >for years, if you find chalkbrood, then requeen whereas ventilation will fix >the problem! Does anyone want to comment? I am firmly convinced that some bees are more susceptible to chalkbrood than others. Certainly genetic hygenic behaviour has a very positive influence. There may also be just a general increase in vigor with a young queen, as opposed to an old one. I have been rigidly excluding chalkbrood from all my breeding stock; even just the slightest trace disqualifies a queen. I see a lot less of it now than in previous years, and when I do, it is usually from a boughten queen, which is a good arguement for trying to breed a higher percentage of my own. I used to see quite a few hives in late summer, that were light as a feather, and heavily infested with chalkbrood. I got so that I could predict chalkbrood, just by the weight of the hive as it was loaded out of a pollination crop. [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554 Visit the pollination web page at >http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html<