*3.1.9 Selecting bees for improved health*

In light of the current trend in global colony losses, it is crucial to mention here that nowadays, nectar brought in by forager bees might also contain constituents such as lethal or sub-lethal levels of toxins from agrichemicals or pathogens [9]. Although it is not clear whether honeybees can detect agrichemicals or pathogens in nectar, H2 type bees would pass on toxins/pathogens that are in nectar preferentially via trophallaxis. This would be an effective way to prevent up to 38% of bees [68] receiving toxins/pathogens and it would reduce widespread contamination in the hive and thus help prevent bee losses. In addition, there are plants in several genera from at least 11 families [61, 62] that naturally produce nectar which contain constituents that have varying degrees of toxicity to bees. Foragers bring these naturally occurring nectars back to the hive. Thus colonies containing H2 type bees that show more preference would have an evolutionary advantage over bees such as those with H1 type bees.

During times when the environment is less conducive to colony health, such as when agrichemicals are used on crops or when EFB, AFB and Nosema are prevalent, H2 type bees would bring these back in the nectar and spread them within the hive via trophallaxis with less efficiency than H1 type bees because H2 type bees show preferences for H2 bees only. H1 type bees show fewer preferences and are likely to feed all bees within the colony via trophallaxis. This behaviour will spread the incoming nectar more rapidly throughout the colony. The new segregation cup system can test for this behaviour and beekeepers can select H2 type bees for better colony health/survival over H1 type bees.

It is important to mention that on some occasions beekeepers might select H1 type bees and on other occasions they might want to select H2 type bees. The new segregation cup system can enable beekeepers to make these choices. Once the choice is made, beekeepers can then develop their own breeding programs by breeding queens from those colonies to propagate the desired behaviours in subsequent colonies.
