View Full Version : controlled natural mating
Radar
03-04-2008, 03:48 AM
I came across this article and was wondering if anyone had tried this system. If it works it would be useful to rear just a few queens without the need to set up isolated saturated drone area. Anyone have any ideas why it would or would not work?
http://www.halfcomb.com/Hogg_Halfcomb___Publications/ABJ_1991_1May.pdf
WVbeekeeper
03-04-2008, 06:16 PM
If it works it would be useful to rear just a few queens without the need to set up isolated saturated drone area. Anyone have any ideas why it would or would not work?
Why go throuh the touble? One good colony can be used to mate with up to twenty queens (15-20). An overwintered colony which is not set up as drone colony will have enough drones for just a few queens.
Velbert
03-04-2008, 08:37 PM
Don't know if it was the same exact same method that is in you link, In the American Bee Journal about 4 or 5years ago Sue wrote about it, witness returning queen just before dark don't remember who it was but they were mating about 300 queens every time with this method.
Radar
03-05-2008, 03:50 AM
>Why go throuh the touble? One good colony can be used to mate with up to twenty queens (15-20). An overwintered colony which is not set up as drone colony will have enough drones for just a few queens.<
This method if I can get it to work is a lot less trouble than I currently have to get Queens mated with drones from specific Queens. A group of us are currently rearing docile queens in an area populated by bad tempered Buckfast second and third generation crosses. This involves a round trip of 60 miles to an isolated area.
Allowing them to mate locally with a system that would eliminate the possibility of mating with undesirable drones would be beneficial. I suppose there is always the possibility that the odd drone or two may just pop out later in the day to mess things up.
>Don't know if it was the same exact same method that is in you link, In the American Bee Journal about 4 or 5years ago Sue wrote about it, witness returning queen just before dark don't remember who it was but they were mating about 300 queens every time with this method<
I will have to try and find this article