Queen rearing in Tanzania.
Thu, 09/02/2012 - 20:09
Comments
Queen rearing in Tanzania
Dear Segunda
Remember that queen rearing is a technique used in two different processes with two different aims (1) To multiply your colonies - but keep the same characteristics (2) To breed bees - which means changing their characteristics (genes), gradually over some generations. Clearly there is some over-lap here as even when the objective is multiplication and not breeding (changing the genetic characteristics) you would normally choose to rear queens and multiply from the colonies that you like - rather than those you don't.
Bee breeding refers to the process of changing the genetic characteristics - and choosing preferred characteristics. This is difficult. It is difficult because whilst you can choose the virgin queens from your preferred colonies you cannot choose (easily) the drone bees that your new queens will mate with.
One significant reason why it is difficult to rear queens with African bees is that unlike European bees (same species, different race) African bees abscond easily if handled frequently. Queen rearing requires a significant level of management and handling and this can lead to absconding.
The easiest way to multiply colonies it to split them - this is easier than rearing queens.
Concerning breeding bees (changing their genetic characteristics) we always urge caution. African bees are supremely well-adapted to their local environment which is one reason why they do not suffer from the same level of pests and diseases as European bees. Much of this adaptation has a genetic basis - therefore it is important to think carefully before changing it.
For information about bee breeding you can refer to the Bees for Development website - go to Information Portal, choose Practical Beekeeping, then Rearing and Breeding Bees.
Good Luck with all your beekeeping work.
Janet Lowore, Bees for Development
hello segunda,
hello segunda,
It is a very good idea to do queen rearing in your area. If you want to multiply your colonies, you must also learn queen rearing so that you will not depend your queen sources from others. Queen rearing is easy, you can find all the steps in the internet, just be sure you have strong builder colonies... dont forget also that you must have ample drones to mate your queens... when you have enough queens it is easy to split and multiply colonies... I dont have any idea about your african bees but i think it is worth trying... Using jenter set is a good idea, try also grafting.
goodluck...
doods j. condes, dvm
philippines...
regards to my friend juan d.l. garces, charllote lietaer, joao holand, niem nguyen and other classmates from mashav 2011...
QUEEN REARING IN TANZANIA
Dear Sengunda
Remember queen rearing needs capital and in our county most beekeeper are poor so they
don't have money to afford that cost of raing queen. Also many beekeeper officers are doing Forest work because in beekeeping they think from beekeeping they don't get money.
So we as beekeepers we need to provide education to all people so that they can know the advantage of beekeeping, then we can breed our queens.
Good luck for what u plan to do
Innocent student of beekeeping training institute tabora
split a colony step by step
Hello my name is Juan. Have a good day.
I am a young Beekeeper from Colombia
One way to split one colony in two is by formation of new queens. The method describe below is for beekeepers that use topbar or frame hives. With traditional hives it is very difficult to do this operation because you cannot see where the fresh eggs are and where the queen is.
To start, you need a strong colony, with bees on 10 or more frames. It’s important that this colony is healthy, with food and has new born eggs no more than two days old. If the eggs are older than two days, the worker bees will not be able to transform the cell into a queen cell. It’s better when you use colonies built to this purpose and do not harvest honey or pollen from this colonies.
1) Select 2 or 3 frames with the new born eggs (No more than 2 days old) and transfer them to a new cage, also transfer the bees present on those frames. Make sure you place the new hive far away from the “mother colony”, otherwise the worker bees will return to the “mother hive”. Make sure you do not move the queen to the new colony otherwise you will leave the “mother colony” without fresh brood and without queen.
2) Transfer also two or three more frames with workers and food storage to start the new colony. Remember to leave some eggs frames with workers, food and the queen in the former colony.
At the beginning is recommended to transfer 4 to 6 frames (eggs, food and workers) from the mother colonies to not put in risk the strong colonies, and have enough bees to build a new colony. Once the beekeeper understood and domain the technique can split colonies in half to acelerate the recovery process.
3) Remember to replace the removed frames with empty frames (or topbar) so that the bees can build up the colony again.
4) The transfered workers will feel that there is no longer presence of a queen and will start feeding some of the new larvae with royal jelly and will form royal cells in about 15 to 25 days after the split.
5) Remember to do this in the flowering season, when plenty of pollen and nectar is available to make easier the recovery of the colonies. As alternative, feed the colonies with sugar syrup and pollen bread.
Sugar syrup
To 1 Litre clean water (preferible boiled)
Add 500 g sugar (any white sugar you have) (you can use instead or add honey if desired) mix well.
Use 1L of syrup per colony, put at disposition of the bees, try to use a recipient were the bees can have easy acces to the syrup and don’t die drown get it in (put some wood/plastic sticks where the bees can stand up meanwhile they drink) do it every 8 days for the fisrt 30 to 40 days after the split, don’t leave the syrup out side for long periods of time, because it will fermentate. Feed until the colony goes well, check the recovery (egg and larvae laying).
Pollen Bread
100 g of pollen (Fresh or dry)
25 ml of clean water (boil)
Mash until you get a soft solid mass (add more or less water if need it)
Put 2 small balls of pollen bread (10 – 20 g) per colony in the upper part of the frames so the bees can have acces. You can check if they need more pollen bread, do it the same days you change the syrup.
6) In this way one or more queens can be produced in the new colony. The next step is the fecundation of the new born queens by “nuptial flights”. (try to assemble this with drones production from other colonies, "Timing", but generally you let this part to nature).
7) Check that the new queen is laying eggs (+/- 55 days after the split) as well as the former queen. Is important that the colonies have enough number of bees and food to overcome the split, also it is recommended a daily check before and after the split to ensure that the eggs that are going to be transfer are new born as possible, and detect the formation of royal cells in the new colony. Once the new born queen starts laying eggs put more empty frames to build up the colony.
Good luck!
Best Regards
Juan David Lobaton Garces
MS.c student Molecular Genetics
University of Leicester
Queen rearing in Tanzania
Thanks very much for such constructive comments from the forum members. I particularly might have the same caution as what Janet has said, about future impact if we capitalize in changing bees character as far as copying and pasting of techniques/ approach sometimes never work the same for different places. We must think of the geographical and regional variability and the ecological services that may affect their living, and link with the behaviour organisms behave, to adapt to their environments. In the tropics there are many bee enemies than in the temperate regions, probably that is why bees differ in temperament/ hygienic characters, food storage tendences etc. We must not change them so much, epecially if features of our desires are inheritable, some of these features shows some sort of adaptation to their environment.
Therefore, if Mr. Segunda is real intending to do breeding, then it is to be with caution. But, at the moment I see as if your current objective is just to rear queen so that you can do colony multiplication. This can be easily done some time withought demanding high tech as most of us we are used to think. You can let the bees themselves raise their own queen 'by natural means'. But also, it is so difficult to control gene tranfer (mating) from their father (Drones) if we dont have controlled mating environment. This is a problem, I dont know how much you have prepared on this.
But, if your programme is only for colony division then, Juan can be of much help to multiply you existing good /strong colonies.
I know with Jenter System, if successful to rear queens, then many queens can be raised withing shorter period. So you need to ask yourself whether you already have many strong colonies for the programme! where these queens /queen cells will be transfered!!!!?? Or if you are planning to sell them? It is very important, since only 16 days is required before the virgin Queen emerge, and she is to be mated in a matter of few days if not weeks, any delay may lead to have useless Queens while you have incured many costs to maintain your breeder colonies.
To me I think we better start teaching our beekeepers to keep bees rather than just stealling their honey. Beekeepers have to pay back to the bees, especially during dearth period, this will help reduce loss of colonies 'absconding', taking records from bee colonies so that, they track their perfomance and behaviour, hence select colonies with good characters and divide them. This will help spread good character into their apiaries. I have such good examples where African bees if kept in good environments, a colony can stay for even more than Ten years without absconding. It is to be clear that, in Africa we are not managing honeybees. There are many problems such as Varroa problems, Hive beetles, Ants and many others, but their effects is not clear to us and without any control measures from our beekeepers. So we don't have to generalize about the absconding tendence, probabbly caused by a multiple factors. Most of the bee enemies in Africa are not controlled by man but by bees themselves. So let us keep them and try start selecting honeybee colonies that we think are of good traits as some of these characters are inheritable and then advocate colony division rather than depending on swarming colonies every year.
My last advice to you is to think of starting an intensive colony management programmes in Tanzania/ As commercial beekeepers do if we are intending to know/select/divide/multiply colonies to improve production. Currently, simple techniques can be of much value if the knowledge will be instituted and used by our beekeepers.
Issa
Beekeeping Expert/ Beekeeper - Beekeping Training Institute, Tabora-Tanzania.
My dear partners in Beekeeping!
Am always thought on why we are not produce our own colonies with the desired character we want? our fellows from developed country they produce their own queen with the desired character, why not us? is it too difficult to do? is it much expensive? ARE WE IGNORANT ON IT? we have no much time to operate it? or what is our problem with africa bees?
After deep thinking i want to start now to rear queen, this will help to increase the collonies and not depend the collonies during the swarming season.
My dear friend by starting i will use a karl Jenter kit to start the process of rearing queen, please i will always give you on the development of my work
Regards
Segunda