[…]centre, a drone congregation area, and the surrounding populations. Honeybees have a very complex mating system in which drones and virgin queens meet mid-air to mate in areas that have been named drone congregation areas. Drones assembled in such a drone congregation area come from several surrounding colonies and thereby represent the diversity of the entire local population. These congregation […]
[…]can be quite difficult to find the queen of a very small colony such as a weak nucleus or a mini mating-nucleus. This is probably due to the fact that in these tiny colonies the queen is more likely to run onto the floor or sidewalls and it may be necessary to remove all the frames before she is found […]
[…]queen cells for those who want more queens. Changing queens in colonies. Making up mating nuclei. Getting queens mated. Working with other beekeepers and the local BKA. [/column-half-1][column-half-2]There will be plenty of information on colony management, with emphasis on understanding what is happening inside colonies and keeping things simple. Many beekeepers believe some of the current bee problems have partly […]
[…]has 180 members who make use of both 25 regional (non-isolated) and five isolated alpine mating stations, mating some 6,000 queens per annum. Breeding stock is selected on behavioural and morphometric criteria. One canton, Glarus in the east of the country, has granted A. m. mellifera protected status; the federal government has refused to extend this status nationwide but has […]
[…]rather than soil the hive and possibly spread disease. Despite the odd report of Apiary Vicinity Mating (AVM) being observed in other races, it is thought that only Amm are capable of performing this useful function on a regular basis. If correct, it may suggest that some of the problems seen in U.K. and Irish conditions where poor mating in […]
What is Apis mellifera mellifera? Apis mellifera mellifera, Linnaeus 1758 is a subspecies and northern geographical race of Apis mellifera, the western honeybee. It may be subdivided into many local ecotypes. Its various vernacular names include: “Dark European Honeybee” (English), “L’abeille noire” (French), “Die dunkle Biene” (German) and “Det mörka Nordiska Biet” (Swedish). Apis mellifera mellifera is distinguished from other […]
[…]will fly in dull and drizzly weather which would keep Italian bees indoors. It may also be that mating can take place at lower temperatures than in the case of the southern races. Although less prolific than Italians, the workers live longer and there is a higher ratio of foraging bees to hive bees. The wintering capabilities of the Dark […]
[…]Eighe. No other beekeepers/feral colonies were known to be in the area at that time and drone-free mating hives housing virgins were set up as a test, as no successful mating was achieved a number of hives were established on the reserve. New queens were successfully grafted, mated and reared from more brood retrieved from the source apiary and these […]
[…]site in a secluded valley and have taken breeder drone colonies and virgin queens there for mating, we are taking a break from the time-consuming use of the out-apiary, so we can concentrate on establishing the Group and the colonies on the new site. The out-apiary is there for the future if we need it. Key to our bee […]
[…]covering are:- Colony handling techniques. Making up and managing queen mating colonies and nuclei. Discussing and demonstrating Q/C building methods. Clipping and marking queens and drones. Q/C raising colonies. Assessing colonies and deciding which to raise queens from and which to replace. Selection criteria. Recording. Working with other beekeepers. Setting up and running a bee improvement facility. Equipment required - […]
