My First Artificially Inseminated ( A I ) Queen Bee!!

[@markmurphy8303]

Hi Gruff mate, my eyes are not what they used to be but looking at your new breeder queen she was a biggin, good luck with her Gruff lad.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thanks Mark 😊

[@Chilavertish]

With every video I piece together one more word of the intro 😃 great channel 👏

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thank you 😊

[@rickwarner516]

Well done 👍🏽

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thanks Rick 😊

[@melaniejenkins109]

Really interesting video

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@_J.F_]

There are many reasons for a beekeeper to smile - sometimes reasons for tears too of course - and a successful queen introduction is definitely something worth smiling about. Good luck with the new genes in your apiary.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thank you 😊

[@apveening]

For the first couple of weeks I would do weekly inspections for supersedure cells.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Excellent advice

[@tonnehead777]

I struggle to get my queens marked well with a pen, never mind getting a sticker on😂 Very impressive and a lovely looking queen, hope she does well for you.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thank you 😊

[@ApiaryManager]

Bee breeders usually allow their queens to emerge in Nicot cages inside an incubator at 34-35 C 50% relative humidity. The benefit of this is that you can be 100% certain that the queen in the cage is actually the one you bred (and not a virgin from an emergency cell you failed to spot or even a virgin returning from an orientation flight which entered the wrong hive). During the first 24 hours, a virgin moves quite slowly so it is easier to mark them at this stage. Some breeders wait until after the insemination (when the queen is still narcotised by the carbon-dioxide used during the insemination process) to mark the queen. I prefer the former, rather than the latter, as it provides 100% certainty that you are actually inseminating the queen you think you are. Breeders will also use a tool, made from a length of dowel with a straight #2 entomology pin on one side and one bent at 90 degrees on the other, to mark the queens. The straight pin is used to apply the adhesive while the bent pin is used to apply the numbered disc (called an "opilathplattchen"). Various adhesives may be used but it is important to only get this on the thorax.

[@Lsmith-ly2cm]

Great video thank you very much.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Thank you 😊

[@martynhordern7351]

Liked your use of the bee hood. I think it was Northumberland honey who suggested misting the bees in the cage as they are less likely to fly. Still do.it in a sealed room. Tried it once and it worked.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Misting is a great idea! Agree though sealed room is a must!

[@ApiaryManager]

I use a clear plastic bag (e.g. one off a pack of foundation as there is enough space to work) when doing this in the apiary. Put the cage and one hand inside the bag and gather the edge under my cuff. This creates a seal so any escapees have nowhere to go. Then I slide open the cage and flip all the bees out. It may take a few seconds for them to settle down but you can easily manoeuvre the queen back into the cage by herself and close the lid. The cage already has her smell in it so she may even walk in without any coaxing. It's a good idea to retain the attendants for disease analysis (if they've come from abroad, You now have to kill the attendants and send them, the cage and packaging to APHA). My point being, don't just let them fly and beg their way into another hive.. To kill the attendants, a few drops of chloroform or nail varnish remover in the sealed bag will kill them quickly. Alternatively, put the bag in your freezer.

[@jemligg4788]

So interesting. I managed to catch a swarm as my first ever hive but next season I hope to get a nuc or queen. Lots of positive stuff on the Buckfast bees! Will look forward to updates on this colony. Thanks. Would it just take more time for welsh black bees to accept a buckfast queen? I think my swarm was welsh black bees. in South Wales.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Welsh black bees like black bees mainly!! But it can still work 😊

[@davidryle1164]

Curious Gryff, you mention that shes the most expensive queen youve had at your apiary. Here in the states, an A.I. breeder queen is going to run you low 4 figures, are U.K. prices comparable.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Few 3 figures I’d say. The breeding wasn’t deep breeder lines. Just AI with local stock

[@simonblakeway559]

I've got 2 II queens (different lines) coming later this week. Used to import Romanian queens but for the last 2 years I've reared my own. Not easy in the UK though.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Weather is definitely a big factor!

[@HazlemereHoney]

Hey man, she looks a beaut. Any reason you chose the push in cage over a full frame cage?

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Just the way the bees acted around here. I could see they had already accepted her.

[@Lsmith-ly2cm]

She cost you a boat load. But its a great deal for the beekeeper.

[@craigtipton8658]

Can't find a link for them I even emailed and it bounced back

[@mahenderyadav5568]

How can I make please tall

[@chocolatesugar4434]

People say artificial insemination is harmful to the Queen, but she looks fine to me. Is it harmful though? Do you think honey bee farming is harmful to bees and the environment? Is it true that beekeepers burn their hives each winter and then just buy new bees? Are bees left homeless when you remove the wax? Why do the bees need bee syrup if they make honey? Do we take all their honey and give them syrup? I'd love to know the answer to these questions!! And i love your videos too! Thanks 💜💜💜😊

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Hi, I’m not educated up around the artificial insemination so can’t answer that question. But the queen I have is in great health by the looks of it. I don’t think it’s harmful I think it benefits the environment. We definitely don’t burn our hives! Bees and hives are really expensive. We do everything we can to make sure the bees are healthy and thrives for several years. Buying new bees every year would make us bankrupt! No bees stay in their hive even after the honey is removed. That’s their home. We feed bees syrup when they have no honey to stop them starving. Same way you would give a cow a bale of hay when there is no grass in the field. We try not to feed as it’s expensive. If they can eat honey that benefits bee and beekeeper. Hope this answers most your questions?😊

[@ApiaryManager]

There should be no difference between an instrumentally inseminated queen and one which has naturally mated - they should live as long and produce as many, if not more, fertile eggs (since there is no possibility of inbreeding as the breeder will choose the parents carefully). The big benefit of using instrumentally inseminated queens is that it allows the beekeeper to introduce desirable traits into their stock - and maintain/improve them. With natural mating, the beekeeper has no control over the drones which a virgin queen may mate with. It's a bit like allowing a bitch to mate with all the dogs in your neighbourhood. You'd be unable to control the progeny. Honeybee queens are polyandrous (mate with multiple drones) so a lot of attention has to be paid to the origin of the drones. Without instrumental insemination, a beekeeper can only really control the maternal line. With instrumental insemination, a breeder can use spermatozoa from a single drone, many drones produced by the same queen or many drones produced by different queens (which may, themselves, be related or unrelated depending upon what the breeder wants to achieve) . You can also use sperm from a single drone to inseminate several sister queens to reduce variation within a series. There are many possibilities.