breeding Archives - Professional Beekeepers

Topic: breeding

published - 3 March 2020
By Nadine Chapman

Plan Bee – Australian honey bee genetic improvement program

Mission statement
Plan Bee aims to foster a sustainable national genetic improvement program using innovative breeding technologies to transform the performance of honey bees in Australia. It will focus on traits of importance to beekeepers, and horticulture and broadacre industries dependent on honey bee pollination. The strength of this project lies …
Read More

breeding, Plan bee, queen bees

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases, Pollination

published - 13 December 2019
By Tom Gillard

Controlled Breeding: Artificial Insemination of Queen Bees

The unique mating system of honey bees makes it incredibly difficult for beekeepers to accurately determine the fathers of their colonies. Virgin queens mate with approximately 30 drones at sites called Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs), which are open areas surrounded by trees. Drones fly from around 3.75km radius from the …
Read More

artificial insemination, breeding, genetics, queen bees

Managing your hives

published - 9 November 2019
By Elizabeth Frost, NSW Department of Primary Industries

What is VSH? Varroa sensitive hygiene trait

The Varroa destructor mite is a major honey bee pest throughout most of the world. Australia is the only major beekeeping country in the world to be free of the parasite. Varroa mites feed on the fat body of adult bees and developing bee larvae and reproduce under capped cells …
Read More

biosecurity, breeding, varroa, VSH

Managing your hives, Pests and diseases