Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345
Results 41 to 49 of 49

Thread: Horner method for controlled mating

  1. #41
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    LJ
    My own observations of apiary vicinity mating are completely at odds with the observations of Beo Cooper who claimed it was a strategy used by AMM to mate in a brief interlude of poor weather.
    When I see AVM it is always on a perfect warm day, blue sky between 12.30 and 4.30 PM.
    I don't know why some queens fly to drone congregation areas whereas others mate in the apiary.
    I am not even sure which strategy is most common in my bees but AVM is not unusual at all.

    Most of the book - Breeding Better Bees - is online for anyone interested
    Last edited by Jon; 27-12-2013 at 03:16 PM.

  2. #42

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    LJ
    My own observations of apiary vicinity mating are completely at odds with the observations of Beo Cooper who claimed it was a strategy used by AMM to mate in a brief interlude of poor weather.
    When I see AVM it is always on a perfect warm day, blue sky between 12.30 and 4.30 PM.
    I don't know why some queens fly to drone congregation areas whereas others mate in the apiary.
    I am not even sure which strategy is most common in my bees but AVM is not unusual at all.
    Jon,
    My own observations are the same as yours, also with virgin queens from different sub species within the same mating apiaries going out on mating flights at more or less the same time.
    Also going out on these AVM flights several times during the course of an afternoon, several minutes great activity followed by several minutes of quiet...then off again.
    One single drone can supply a queen with more enough sperm, but most of it is ejected to make room for more, and more genetic diversity.
    Last edited by Pete L; 27-12-2013 at 05:10 PM.

  3. #43
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    West Wales, Gorllewin Cymru
    Posts
    709

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Beats the hell out of anecdote though!
    Quite.
    Anything anecdotal needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, especially if it conveniently explains a pet theory.
    Well designed experiments carried out rigorously with large sample numbers and suitable controls remove doubt.
    Edit: Which is quite depressing when considering how difficult it is for anyone with real bees to get their hands on research funding.
    Last edited by mbc; 27-12-2013 at 10:27 PM.

  4. #44
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete L View Post
    Jon,
    My own observations are the same as yours, also with virgin queens from different sub species within the same mating apiaries going out on mating flights at more or less the same time.
    Hi, working with different sub-species as you do, have you ever seen differences in drone activity to match Gilles Fert's observation of Italian and Caucasian drones flying at different times (which I copied in an earlier post in this thread)?

  5. #45
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    At the risk of veering slightly off fatshark's initial topic there's an interesting paper Experimental Analysis of Reproductive Interspecies Isolation of Apis Mellifera L. and Apis Cerana Fabr. By Ruttner and Maul which I came across while looking for references to Dr Koeniger's work.
    Last edited by prakel; 23-06-2014 at 08:50 AM.

  6. #46
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default Dr Gudrun Koeniger

    Quote Originally Posted by prakel View Post
    ......the most interesting paragraph for me was one which you didn't highlight, page 17, regarding Dr Gudrun Koenger's work. I think that a write up of her research would make for interesting holiday reading.
    It looks like she's a provisional lecturer at this year's National Honey Show on the subject of 'mating strategies to avoid inbreeding'. A search of her work across the net shows some really interesting stuff so she may well be the one to watch this year.

  7. #47
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by prakel View Post
    At the risk of veering slightly off fatshark's initial topic there's an interesting paper Experimental Analysis of Reproductive Interspecies Isolation of Apis Mellifera L. and Apis Cerana Fabr. By Ruttner and Maul which I came across while looking for references to Dr Koeniger's work.
    To which, I'll add this recent report of Asian/European bees inter-breeding in Australia, taken from ABJ extra:

    http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=...f&e=57f94334d8

    Beekeepers are on alert after tests found Australia's European honeybees are breeding with the destructive Asian honeybee.

    Sperm from the Asian honeybee, that carries the deadly Varroa mite, was found in one third of commercial queens tested in the Cairns region of Far North Queensland.

    It produces useless eggs, reducing the honey and pollination services from affected hives.

    But beekeepers are not surprised or alarmed.

  8. #48
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    Found this in The Book of Beekeeping by W.B.Webster c1888

    The fertilisation of queens by selected drones at other times of the year is very uncertain. We will give the best methods to be adopted to accomplish this end under these disadvantageous circumstances. Upon the evening before the queen is expected to fly, all the nuclei, together with the hive containing the drones, are removed from their stands, placed in a cool, perfectly dark place -the entrances of the hives being closed with perforated zinc-and left until the following day about 5.30 or 6 p.m. They are then brought out, and placed on their respective stands. On no account intermix them. As the drones from all other colonies will have ceased flying, or are just returning, at this time a good chance is obtained of getting the queens properly fertilised. When the hives have all been placed in position -which must be so that the sun shines in the entrances -a little honey is smeared just at the flight holes of the nuclei, and some thin, warm honey poured over the frames of the hive containing the drones; this raises a great commotion in the hive, and consequent increase of temperature. The drones will then fly forth, and the queens likewise. It is very easy to get the queens to fly out, but more difficulty is experienced in getting the drones to do so. Sometimes it is expedient, if they will not fly, to lift out a frame, and toss them in the air; but do not do so if there is a possibility of their flying without such extreme measures.

  9. #49
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Jurassic Coast.
    Posts
    1,480

    Default

    Not much new in beekeeping: Dzierzon's rational bee-keeping. 1882

    Meanwhile, the beekeeper may have some influence in effecting true mating, by exciting with liquid food given or syringed into them, some of the hives that have most Italian drones and queens ready for flight, thus inciting them to play in front of the hives earlier, while the other drones are still resting quietly in their hives. It is evident, then, that it is better to have the Italian drones in few hives but in large numbers. By making the stocks queenless, the drones can be preserved far on into the autumn, so as to have some ground for hoping for the genuine mating of the queens that take their marriage flight after the extinction of the other drones. To set up Italian stocks in an entirely isolated apiary is really not necessary, nor even advantageous. The more hives there are at the same apiary, the greater is the opportunity of assisting the Italians with brood-combs and bees. The more young Italian queens can be lodged out, so many the more genuine ones will there be among them. But drones must not be allowed to be reared in the other hives.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •