Heritability of recapping behavior and suppressed mite reproduction as resistance traits towards .

The selection of honeybee strains resistant to the ectoparasitic mite is generally considered as one of the most sustainable ways of coping with this major bee parasite. Thus, breeding efforts increasingly focus on resistance parameters in addition to common beekeeping traits like honey yield and gentleness. In every breeding effort, the success strongly depends on the quantifiability and heritability of the traits accounted.