Apis mellifera mellifera

[B+.]

Bought a AMM queen last year from Jonathan Getty I think from Ireland for a split

It always seems to be down to the source of your stock and how you are able to keep them pure. Otherwise, such gains can be lost just as easily.

 

[Finman]

your stock and how you are able to keep them pure. .

in 2 hive apiary it is simple. Buy the queens.
.

 

[B+.]

in 2 hive apiary it is simple. Buy the queens.
.

Thats exactly what he did do.

 

[thibault]

It always seems to be down to the source of your stock and how you are able to keep them pure. Otherwise, such gains can be lost just as easily.

yes a bit scared of the outcome of raising new queens as they will be mongrels, I have read that F2 tend to be aggressive

 

[For want of a better word]

yes a bit scared of the outcome of raising new queens as they will be mongrels, I have read that F2 tend to be aggressive

AI is not a black art... it is after all is said and done how the Carniolian and so called buckfast beebreeders keep their stocks "pure"

Not so sure about the Baltic island raised stocks of the hybrid varieties imported to the UK, as the ones in the past I have had were not so well tempered!

Myttin da

 

[B+.]

AI is not a black art... it is after all is said and done how the Carniolian and so called buckfast beebreeders keep their stocks "pure"

Instrumental Insemination is just a technique. Its like driving a car: once you have mastered it, its quite easy to do. The interesting part is working out where your daughter queens and drones are coming from.

Most breeding is done on island mating stations rather than through II. It is cheaper and easier for most people who don't have the number of colonies necessary to support a breeding programme. Using island mating stations, you can be sure that there are enough mature drones to guarantee mating occurs. The only thing you can't control is the weather.

 

[B+.]

yes a bit scared of the outcome of raising new queens as they will be mongrels, I have read that F2 tend to be aggressive

What are you working with now? Are you a member of a group that has people who can do II for you?

 

[mbc]

Have you ever sent your virgin queens for island mating?

 

[B+.]

Have you ever sent your virgin queens for island mating?

Not yet. Most of what I do is using II but I have all the kit to send ewks to the islands. All I would need would be a health certificate from APHA to say that there are no notifiable diseases within 10 km of the apiary they were reared in.
It is very common in Europe.

I should add that the testing work that I do with the Dutch BeeBreed group (http://beebreed.nl/NL-lijn.html) means that I import queens that have gone through that process, but, it is possible that one of my queens could be chosen as a dam/sire in a future generation. The choice of which queens to use is based on breeding values rather than who owns them or where they are.

 

[Finman]

yes a bit scared of the outcome of raising new queens as they will be mongrels, I have read that F2 tend to be aggressive

The main problem is, that you do not have mother gueens, from where to select.
Even 20 hives is too small number to select. 2 hives is not a genepool, where to select.
. And own reared queens are far from cheap.

 

[Swarm]

yes a bit scared of the outcome of raising new queens as they will be mongrels, I have read that F2 tend to be aggressive

You bought a laying Amm queen from Jonathan Getty so all her offspring will be pure, that includes any daughter queens. Even these queens will still produce pure drones, only the workers will be hybrid. Replace any subsequent queens to retain purity.
How did they do this year?