Breeding the Honeybee

Chris is a 3rd generation beekeeper from Canada. His family specialise in imports of packages and queens. You can find the family’s business at https://www.bartelbeeco.ca/ Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeeThis podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au0:00 Family7:59 Shipping queens internationally12:40 Old way of beekeeping in Canada16:10 Wintering 18:55 Ezy LoaderEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Monika is a polish queen breeder. Together with her team they produce a staggering 35000 virgin queens for sale each year. This is a popular way to purchase queens in Poland. They also produce mated and instrumentally inseminated queens. Monika’s team uses a range of techniques that lead them to achieve incredibly high levels of efficiency in the production of quality queens.  You can follow Monika’s work here. https://www.facebook.com/akademiapszczelarzahttps://pasieka-szeligow.pl/Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auSpecial thanks to Marc Hillen and Anita Long for helping to set up this interview. Photo by Marc HillenEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Chris is a queen breeder and honey producer who has a family based bee business that operates between Florida and Wisconsin in the US.  Chris's Website Chris's Business Facebook Page Join the 'Breeding the Honeybee' Facebook group to be apart of future live streamsThis podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Krispn is an Apiculture Specialist at Purdue University’s Department of Entomology in West Lafayette Indiana USA. He runs a program breeding mite biting bees. Krispn is also the co-owner of a company that produces high quality instrumental insemination equipment made in the US.  Apis Engineering's Website Krispn's profile at Purdue University Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!Podcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Episode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Marc is a queen breeder and uses instrumental insemination to produce every queen in his apiary. In this episode we cover some of the challenges of II and the interesting way in which they handle varroa in Norway. Norwegian beekeepers can purchase Marc’s queens from his website. Marc can also be contacted through his Facebook pageIf you liked this episode you might want to consider joining the Facebook group for this podcast. It's a great way to leave feedback, get notifications on new episodes and participate in live sessions.Podcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au 

In this live podcast with Peter Czeti, we discuss the Australian Queen Bee Breeders Association AQBBA breeding plan from 2024-2029. This live session included a QandA. If you would like to hear that part you can watch is on the 'Breeding the Honeybee' Facebook group. If you would like to be part of the program please contact Peter on the AQBBA website. This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

This is a rerun from 'The Pollen Nation Podcast' with Matt Walker. In this episode Matt covers the issue with raising queens too early in the season. Matt's Website Podcast linkFacebookYouTube

Kirk has been keeping bees for over 50 years and has not treated for varroa since 2002. His methods are inspired by his experiences with organic farming. Kirk’s approach to varroa is very hands off. He maintains the colonies by producing nucs that he overwinters. Apart from some issues resulting from modern agriculture, Kirk feels as though his beekeeping experience at present is almost the same as before he first came across varroa. You can read more about Kirk's work here https://kirkwebster.com/Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeeThis podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auwww.nixonqueenbees.com.au3:52 Why people should raise their own queens 4:58 Kirk’s start raising queens 8:04 Kirk’s mating nucs 10:50 Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey11:34 Feeding mating nucs 16:18 Early experiencing with selective breeding 19:11 Selection for varroa 23:57 Starting the treatment free route 26:45 Nucs that survived winter 28:28 Survivor stock29:29 Last treatment in 200231:47 Mite counts 35:02 Open apiary Episode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Nick Milne is a third-generation beekeeper and owner-operator of Blue Sky Queen Bees and Backyard Bees in Nelson, New Zealand. 2:31 Working in Canada 4:05 Kids and bees 6:08 Getting into queen rearing 8:21 Queen breeding in New Zealand and colour 12:55 Pyramid structure for queen breeding 14:50 Bringing in mated queens for genetic diversity 16:18 Bringing in cells for genetic diversity 16:38 Rea Butler17:23 VSH drone lines 19:34 Selling queen cells 22:01 What Nick sells 23:00 Nick’s other business - Backyard Bees 27:04 Where to find Nick onlinehttps://backyardbees.nz/https://buyqueenbees.nz/Guide to shipping queen cells as discussed in the episode https://www.projectapism.org/resources You’ll find the download link if you scroll down. Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/

Rob and Ron have been working together in the West Australian bee industry for many years. Together they run a breeding program using instrumental insemination which Ron learnt from Gretchen Wheen and Sue Cobey. In this episode we discuss bee breeding, the Rottnest program, Joe Horner’s drone rearing and the story of the Karri tree, which Rob is writing a book about. 1:30 When Rob and Ron started working together3:14 Rottnest breeding program5:14 Gretchen Wheen and Mathilde 'Tilly' Kühnert7:14 When Ron Learnt Instrumental insemination 7:52 Sue Cobey visits Australia in 20099:33 Challenges of Instrumental insemination12:00 Joe Horner’s drone rearing system14:02 Drone drift15:37 Queens you can get from Rob and Ron19:20 Rob’s book on the Karri forest in Western Australia 22:29 Baiting Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeeRecord a soundbite about your queen rearing here https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/pages/podcast This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Cory Stevens is a VSH queen breeder from Missouri, USA. He has a business called Steven’s Bee Company which offers AI VSH breeder queens, VSH virgin queens and raw honey free of miticides and antibiotics. Cory's Website and Facebook https://www.stevensbeeco.com/https://www.facebook.com/stevensbeecoComment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeeRecord a soundbite about your queen rearing here https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/pages/podcast This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au00:00 Introduction1:50 Guest question - Matt Crane - Is there a correlation between colour and VSH?3:20 Guest question - Steve Sammut - Is there a correlation between UBeeO and VSH?5:00 Guest question - Paul Roder - Is there a correlation between bald brood and VHS?7:00 Cory’s commercial program in which he sends out breeders and gets back high performing F1s8:50 How the F1s in the program are assessed 10:07 UbeeO and overwintering 12:53 Harbo Assay13:42 Are F1s in the program treated?17:16 What traits are desirable in returning F1s?19:10 Colour and VSH - HarboEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Mary is in Sparta Georgia and has a business called BeeCo Apiaries. Together with her daughter, Mary sells honey, nucs and small scale locally mated queens. 2:17 Getting into queen rearing 5:25 Lines of queens Mary uses 7:30 Survivor stock 8:15 Cell raising method 11:30 Mating nucs 13:30 Advice to people who are thinking of getting into queen rearing as a sideline 15:50 What Mary is offering in her business this season17:57 Where to find MaryMary’s Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/beecoapiariesMary’s Website https://www.beecoapiaries.com/Mary’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/beecoapiaries/Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Music https://audionautix.com/

Shibu is a Queen breeder in Columbia Tennessee. He sells queens, nucs and AI equipment, which he also offers training for. At the time of releasing this episode Shibu had just had a tornado go through his property and cause a lot of destruction. Below is the link to the gofundme which you can follow if you would like to support Shibu in rebuilding his business. Help Shibu get back on trackhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shibu-rajs-tornado-recovery?attribution_id=sl:c3f0948f-fdba-4966-8209-8dcf623c6040&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook https://www.facebook.com/2RiversHoneyBeeshttps://www.tworivershoneybees.com/Contact Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auEpisode Music

Brandon is a queen breeder and the 3rd generation beekeeper from North Carolina USA. His business, Foothill Farm and Apiary offers nucs, production queens and breeders. In this episode Brandon tells us what it was like starting a breeding program with artificial insemination.0:00 Introduction2:00 A family of beekeepers 4:00 Brandon’s breeding program4:35 Allogrooming7:58 Learning AI9:54 Introducing AI queens14:16 Drones16:00 AI - Is it worth it?17:13 Being treatment free for mites 19:40 1500 chicken egg incubator for queen cells 21:20 Where you can find Brandon online22:05 Sting Stoppers (A bee suit suit company Brandon is affiliated with)Email Brandon Foothillsfarmnc@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/foothillsfarmandapiary/ Sting Stoppers Bee Suits https://stingstopper.buzz/?sca_ref=5347826.Bpf4wrrNuNJoin the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeeshttps://audionautix.com/Episode Music

Willie Robson is the biggest keeper of the old English black bee in the world. His family business is Chain Bridge Honey Farm, which was established in 1948 by Willie’s father. Willie has been working in the business since 1962 and now works alongside his wife and children. Chain Bridge Honey Farm is based in Horncliffe which is in the UK but right on the Scottish border. 00:00 Introduction2:18 The biggest English black bee breeder in the world 7:50 Total Natural Immunity 9:45 Varroa and Willie’s bees10:30 Working with black bees 11:30 Black bee reserves 12:15 The future of the black bee in the UK13:12 Willie’s favourite part about beekeeping14:15 Chain Bridge Honey Farm showroom 16:30 Advice to new beekeepers 17:30 Brother AdamCheck out willie’s business website https://www.chainbridgehoney.com/Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Brad is a Canadian honey producer. He raises many of his own queens and makes the majority of his hardware. You can find Brad online at Faith Apiaries. Make sure to check out his YouTube channel where he does instructional videos and weekly vlogs.  6:00 Brad’s apiary setup6:50 2 queen systems 11:04 3 nucs over 2 10 frames 13:14 Zombie colonies 16:44 OTS queen rearing22:12 Wintering mating nucs23:57 double screens with mating nucsBrad’s YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/FaithApiaries-ThatBeeManBrad’s Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/FaithApiaries Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Ian Steppler is a Canadian beekeeper who breeds his own line of bees. Ian has unique cell raising and mating nuc styles that are well suited to short season commercial beekeeping. In this episode Ian goes into his cell raising process and mating nucs as well as explaining why he raises his own queens. Ian has a YouTube channel called A Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog. In this episode we discuss a lot of the things that you can see in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouifrZvFn1U00:00 Intro2:18 Bringing in breeding stock 5:30 When Ian started raising his own stock8:30 Cell builders 21:00 Mating nucs You can follow Ian’s work on his YouTube Channel or on his website - https://www.stepplerfarms.com/ Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi!https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Laurence Edwards is a beekeeper based in Northern Wales. He runs a business called ‘Black Mountain Honey’ which produces honey, nucs and queens as well as other services.https://www.blackmountainhoney.co.uk/https://www.youtube.com/@BlackMountainHoney0:46 YouTubing4:00 Buckfast and AMM6:51 Duncan Simmons queens8:47 UK mated queens10:21 Variation in Buckfast lines11:30 Cell building methods 14:00 How to find Laurence online15:25 What is Laurence selling Join the podcast facebook community groupwww.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Leigh Slater is a queen breeder and honey producer in Tasmania, Australia. For 63 years Leigh has been preserving a pure strain of the old English black bee (Apis mellifera mellifera). Back in the 70s Leigh aided beekeepers in England by helping them reestablish the line by sending queens from his protection zone. The black bee was first brought to Australia over 200 years ago by the English and was the first stain of european honeybee in Australia. Since then the strain has almost entirely been replaced by other strains such as the Italian strain. To my knowledge Leigh's apiary is the only one remaining with a pure AMM strain. The current official status as well as the future of this preservation is currently unclear. Special thanks to Matthew Crane, Anita Long, Mick Palmer and Laurie Cowen for helping me put together this episode. 1:00 When Leigh started beekeeping4:13 Preserving the black bee7:05 taking the strain back to England9:30 Attributes of the black bee12:00 The Tasmanian program15:30 Leatherwood honey17:00 Ideal honey boxes Join the podcast facebook community groupwww.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybeePodcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/

Terry has been keeping bees in Ireland since he was 7 years old and has over 30 years experience. Early in his career he spent time working with Peter Donovan at Buckfast Abbey, learning the methods of Brother Adam. Terry has a business called Wicklow Bees and Honey which provides queens, nucs and honey. County below Dublin.4:00 Feeders and Brother Adam6:30 Started queen rearing at 148:00 Irish honey bee9:40 AMM nucs 10:00 Peter Donovan11:30 Meeting Brother Adam15:20 Peter Donovan’s photo book17:10 Buckfast bee20:10 Mating nucs26:30 Dadant Hive30:00 Patsy Bennett and the Teagasc Research Centre in Wexford33:20 Where to find TerryTerry's Website https://wicklowbeesandhoney.wordpress.com/Podcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia)https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/Email Brent brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nixonqueenbees/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nixonqueenbees/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NixonQueenBeesEpisode Musichttps://audionautix.com/