Steadiness on the Comb
Lexikon
Steadiness on the comb describes how calmly the bees stay on the comb when the beekeeper pulls it out.
Steadiness on the comb describes how calmly the bees stay on the comb when the beekeeper pulls it out. A colony with good steadiness stays calm on the comb when it is removed, so the brood pattern, queen cells and stores can be assessed calmly. A colony with poor steadiness runs off the comb, rushes to the edges of the frame, or drops off in clusters.
Steadiness on the comb is assessed, like gentleness, on a fixed scoring scale and always in comparison with the other colonies of the same test group on the same day. Both traits are often recorded together but are independent of each other: a colony can be gentle and still run restlessly on the comb.
The practical benefit is obvious. Anyone who wants to find the queen or safely break out queen cells needs bees that are not constantly on the move. Poor steadiness also carries a higher risk of crushing the queen or having her fall off.
As with steadiness on the comb, heritability depends on the population, and figures for it are not readily transferable.