Fig. 2: Mean genetic values of potential dams across years of birth for selection on either the early (H_1:0) or late trait (H_0:1), for scenarios with a null genetic correlation between worker and queen effects within a trait.

H_1:0: breeding goal comprising only the early trait. H_0:1: breeding goal comprising only the late trait. Initialization: this phase lasted from year 1 to year 10 included, during which the population is closed and sufficient information is accumulated for the first ReML parameter estimation that will follow. In parallel and starting from the same Initialization outcomes, the population was then subjected to EBV selection using estimated parameters while following the Base or Alt breeding scheme. Base: reference breeding scheme with complete phenotyping and a 2-years generation interval on both the dam and the sire path. Alt: accelerated breeding scheme in which only the early trait is phenotyped on potential dams, while potential sires are also phenotyped on the late trait. This partial phenotyping of the dams enables halving the dam generation interval to 1 year.