There are 2 kinds of mutation that occur : trait mutation and new species mutation.
For trait mutation, you will never, ever get a new trait that isn't on either the princess or the drone. Period.
For new species mutation, you will always get the full set of default traits for that new species on either the Active (left) side, Passive (right) side, or both sides if you're lucky.
The ideal way to get Fastest is pure Windy/Windy princess and drone, whether from the same Supernatural + Ethereal with shards under the alp/aviary or from different batches.
But, if you've tried batch after batch of Supernatural + Ethereal pairings and still can't get a Windy/Windy princess and drone, then, yes, melting down enough hybrids until you're lucky in the Isolator, doing the whole serum process, and then putting that Fastest trait into another bee is a good idea.
The 3rd way is to *try* and purify hybrids, but my luck has been terrible, and it's mostly because the new species is recessive (blue) rather than dominant (red). I can't remember the last time I saw the new species as dominant in a hybrid. I'm usually able to get a pure princess and a pure drone after a few batches and, failing that, melting down the hybrids will eventually get me what I want, whether the new species or a specific trait, like Fastest Productivity.
If it wasn't for the Extra Bees machines, I would have given up on bees a loooooooong time ago ![DOUBLEPOST=1382647100][/DOUBLEPOST]As for the foundation block under the alveary, it's always worked for me. In 1.5.2 Unleashed, I bred at least 8 species of bees that required specific foundation blocks.
But, I always make sure to put several of them under (not just 1) *and* I make sure at last once of the required blocks is under a basic Alveary block.
By basic block, I mean the plain Alveary block and not a Frame, Lighting, Rain Shield, Mutator, etc.,. block that can be substituted for an Alveary block in the lower 2 levels..