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Preliminary Report On Selection And Breeding Of Honeybees For Alfalfa Pollen Collection, William P. Nye, O. Mackensen

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Some colonies of honeybees on alfalfa collect a much higher percentage of alfalfa pollen than others. The possibility of genetic differences between colonies was investigated. Colonies collecting high and low percentages of alfalfa pollen were first selected. Daughters of queens from three 'high' and three 'low' colonies were inseminated from their brothers, and colonies headed by queens of these six lines were tested. Colonies headed by sister queens were more similar in the proportion of alfalfa pollen they collected than were those headed by unrelated queens. This suggests heritability of the factor studied. On the other hand no correlation was …