I restrict myself to a stud of another FAMILY altogether so I do have an appreciation
of what is required to maintain pedigree.
Bill
But do we really need "stud" bees? Aren't the "mutts" the ones that on the whole produce decent amounts
of honey, are reasonably good natured etc?
I too have experienced "stud" animals and eventually we just breed a bucket load of problems. We weaken
the strain by breeding for traits that "we as man" wants rather than as the breed is naturally.
Mind you the vets love em.
I stuffed up Mark, in using "pedigree" over the actuality (line or
lineage), so yeah your reference to vets in RangeRovers is well justified!
Last time I looked we had Alsatians (Shepards) with their butt pretty well dragging on the
ground through pedigree selection, likewise for Cavelliers!
Buuuut... back to bees?
In playing the devil's advocate I put to you where we b'keeps 'breed' from our local "mutts"
are we then not doing much the same thing as those who breed to pedigree in regressing
those genes we started the program with?
I do limit the 'question' to those raising queens for purpose in their own yards... not those who
produce an occasional emergency queen nor those recognised breeders I refer to in my OP.
Bill