Association Queen Rearing Project Generously sponsored by Salisbury World of Furniture, World of Pine
In 1999 the Association applied for and was granted £2000 from the Lottery Commission, ‘Awards for All’ to establish a bee breeding programme in Salisbury, using instrumental insemination as a means to ensure pure mating. Honey bees only mate ‘on the wing’, very often miles from the home apiary. This is a survival characteristic peculiar to the honeybee and its function is to minimise in-breeding. It does however make bee breeding something of a lottery since it is very difficult to orchestrate the mating of queens with desirable suitors, unless one lives on an island that is not over-flown by foreign drones. The aim of the project is to master the skill of instrumental insemination so that we can control mating and selectively breed from bees that have desirable characteristics. We aim to produce a bee that is ecologically fit for this area of Wiltshire, is thrifty, hardy and of a docile temperament. It is hoped that through careful selection, we will be able to breed a bee that is resistant to the parasitic mite (Varroa destructor) that has ravaged bee stocks since it first arrived in the UK in 1992. We are now in our eleventh year of the project and the bees at the queen rearing apiary are a delight to handle. Queens and nucleus colonies are available to members at half the cost of commercial suppliers, usually from July onwards. For further information, contact Tony Herbert on 01722 780167.
|
Queen Rearing |
