Queen Rearing: A comparison of queen rearing techniques Kirsten Traynor
A lecture given by Kirsten Traynor at the 2021 National Honey Show entitled "Queen Rearing: A comparison of queen rearing techniques". The National Honey Show gratefully acknowledge the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers for their support and Mr. R.Blaxland for their sponsorship.
When I started out in beekeeping, I was told that you don't rear queens, you buy them. But there is nothing more satisfying than rearing your own. Whether you want to rear just a handful for your own use or a few hundred for sale, the same basics are required: Good genetic material, strong colonies, and a way of rearing cells to completion. The pluses and drawbacks of different queens rearing methods will be discussed.
Dr. Kirsten S. Traynor investigates honey bee health and how pesticides impact social behaviour. She is the Director of the Institute of Bee Science in Celle, Germany. In 2020, she launched a new quarterly magazine 2 Million Blossoms: protect our pollinators. Originally an English major, Kirsten won her first hive in a raffle right after college graduation. These fascinating insects led to a globe-trotting adventure, a PhD in biology, and a new appreciation for the interconnectedness of our planet. But she never lost her desire to write and now combines her skills in science communication. She is the author of Two Million Blossoms: Discovering the Medicinal Benefits of Honey and Simple, Smart Beekeeping.
Enjoyed this lecture. Her smile and enthusiasm was infectious. You can tell she is passionate about the bees. Clearly explained the process.
I Think it’s important to add that when looking at the brood laying patterns it is vital that one checks and observes if the cells contain pollen or honey as this can look like a shot gun pattern but isn’t always because the Queen is tired it’s just where the pollen or honey was stored.
Beautiful lecturer, excellent queens, that eventually leads to a sustainable apiary! Good job, Kirsten! Actually, she is not only a good lecturer, but an excellent writer, too. I got from Amazon a couple of weeks ago Kirsten’s book “Simple, Smart Beekeeping”. Excellent book and so beautifully illustrated. Concerning the excellent photographs in this book, it is definitely due to the invaluable input of the coauthor, Michael, who had been a professional photographer before he fall in love with Kirsten and bees. He has become a beekeeper since that time. Kirsten, thanks again and we are looking forward to more lectures and new books.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the lecture and the book.
Great explanation on Queen Rearing. I have watch many Videos on raising Queens and in 45 minutes you gave a simple step by step lesson that answered every question. Thank You
Much appreciated. I love rearing queens.
I love this lady. I can listen to her all day lots of knowledge
Excellent presentation. The Cloake Board method is also excellent for backyard keep with only a few hives.
Really interested in why breeding from swarm cells is necessarily ‘selecting swarminess’. Surely colonies will swarm in the right conditions, and that’s mainly when they are doing well and crowding themselves. If you have two hives, and one in spring is building up really well, while the other is lagging (poor laying rate, not efficient foragers etc), is it necessarily ‘swarminess’ that leads to the swarm cells? Might it not just be a combination of successful build up pre flow and inattention to making space by the beekeeper. I would agree that if two hives are equally busy/crowded, and only one is making swarm cells, you might be selecting for swarminess. Or if you have been box-swapping, pyramiding/checkerboarding/supering like a mad thing and they STILL, despite all the new room, make swarm cells… But there’s also a possibility that - if the colony is just super-active, and builds up to be in tip-top condition and large size for the main flow- (and the keeper hasn’t kept in front of them) you are just taking swarm cells from an unusually successful hive, no?
Excellent resource. Thank you!
Thank you for all that information!
Thank you for this!
Beautiful queens you make
That was very well put together on the queen rearing .
Thank you. I do my best to communicate in ways that can be easily understood.
@@kirstentraynor6898 well done 👏 ✔️
How do i hit the thumbs up more than once?
Excellent
Where can I get the step-by-step timeline that I can print out and refer back to for going through the process?
It will vary by region, but this should give you an idea. extension.usu.edu/beekeeping/learn/calendar
How about the timing for drone?thank you
Gday from australia, the place of no varroah.
Lucky
I just heard from President Xi that they have some for y'all
Well did you sort it or is varroa a thing now?
Oof. How soon after this comment did they show up? You forgot to knock on wood.
"Gold Ruberg"? Huh?
🤣 Rube Goldberg. Sometimes the brain does odd switcheroos when speaking.
You are otherwise so perfect and phonetically correct, in addition to being patient with the 'next slide please' situation that I had to consider the AI possibility. You soon after showed humor and tried not to laugh and not poke fun of old age and poor vision. Well played. I loved the content!
This is why we don't have carins here. we us Russians and caucasain queens.In our bee yard.