12 Monday Nov 2018
Posted in beekeeping, honey bee genetics
Most of us have heard of the importance of genes, how a mother and father each contribute their important element and so on. We accept, without question, that the mother contributes chromosomes from her egg and the father from his sperm. Much of the animal kingdom operates with these principles.
But that is not the case with honey bees.
Read the full article here: Honey Bee Genetics — PerfectBee
04 Monday Jun 2018
Posted in beekeeping, diseases, famous beekeepers, honey bee genetics
More than a century ago, a young Benedictine monk at Buckfast Abbey in southern England starting helping out the older brothers in the abbey’s apiary. The monk, originally from Germany, was known as Brother Adam.
The bees kept at Buckfast at the time were either Italians or a native British strain, and soon after Brother Adam joined Team Bee, a massive die-off occurred. About 2/3 of the abbey’s hives were lost as the bees succumbed to a disease then known as acarine (today I believe it’s more commonly referred to as tracheal mite disease, which tells you all you need to know about it). All the native British bees died. Only the Italian bees made it.
Read the entire artice here: Bee Preview #2: Brother Adam’s Bees — The Honey Op
14 Thursday Dec 2017
Posted in beekeeping, honey bee biology, honey bee genetics, management
Tags
African Bee, Apis mellifera, beekeeping, Buckfast bee, Cardovan bee, Carniolan, Caucasian Bee, choosing honey bee stock, German Black Bee, honey bee biology, Italian Bees, management, Minnesota Hygienic Bee, Russian bee, Survivor Stock Bees, Varroa sensitive hygienic (VSH) Bee
In my experience, selecting bee stock is the most important decision when starting in Bees. If you choose the wrong type, you can wind up with an aggressive bee or a disease ridden colony. Here is a quick-start guide to help aid you in your search for the perfect strain for you.
Apis Mellifera is the main scientific classification for European Honey Bees. There are several sub-species and hybrid species available. We will start our journey with the German Bee.
Read more of this at: Lesson 1: Selecting Honey Bee Stock by deltavalleyapiary
03 Monday Jul 2017
Posted in beekeeping, honey bee biology, honey bee genetics
In my previous blog, I spoke about the Kinship theory. This theory states that the more relatedness there is between a group of individuals, the more likely to exhibit altruistic behavior the individuals are to be. Honeybee sisters share 75% of the same genetic material. This genetic similarity is what drives the honeybees to take […]
Read more here: Honey Bee Genetics — by deltavalleyapiary
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