Yield is the trait everyone wants to select on and the hardest to assess.

Why yield is difficult

Yield is strongly determined by environment: forage, weather, site, starting strength. The genetic contribution is smaller than with behavioural traits.

Progress is therefore slower, and the risk is greater that you mistake a good site for good genetics.

The condition for fair comparison

• The same apiary
• The same hive type and space
• The same interventions and feeding
• Comparable spring strength

Comparing colonies at different sites measures the difference between those sites, not between the colonies.

What to measure

• Yield per colony, weighed and recorded
• Spring strength on a fixed date, counted the same way
• Winter consumption: The difference between wintering down and coming through
• Brood pattern: Tightness and evenness

Consistency over one good year

A colony that does well in one season may owe that to conditions. Select from colonies that have proved themselves over at least two seasons.

Quality alongside quantity

With other products quality counts more than volume: the amount of jelly per cup, the purity of screen-collected propolis, the variety of the pollen harvested.

Queen quality is a selection trait too: which line produces queens that mate well and give a tight brood pattern.

The trade-off that must not be missed

Selecting on yield alone carries risks. Colonies that are highly productive but defensive, swarm-prone or disease-susceptible cost more in the end than they return.

Assess a combination: wintering, temper, hygienic behaviour, swarming tendency and yield.