SUMMARYProgeny testing of selected queens, being part of improvement project of Italian bees in Israel, was carried out between 1962 and 1974 at the Bee Breeding Apiary of the Ministry of Agriculture at Zerifin. Honey production and brood area of 562 and 499 bee colonies, respectively, were recorded.The regression of honey production on the number of brood cells was linear without any parabolic trend, and amounted to 0.7 kg honey per 1 000 brood cells. The regression of brood cells and honey production of daughters on brood cells of mothers was very slight and non-significant. Therefore, the fertility of Italian queens, measured by the number of brood bells, could not serve as criterion for selection for improvement of honey production. The regression of honey production of daughter queens on that of their mothers was 0.27 + 0.08 showing heritability of 0.54. The selection differential for queens (average of 13 years) was 17.5 kg. Thus queen selection according to honey production seems to have been an effective tool for improving honey production of the Italian honey bee.

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