# artificial insemination



## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Has anyone done artificial insemination on queen bees? I have seen some tapes on the subject and it doesn't look to hard to do. It just looks expensive to get started.


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## SippyBees (Feb 17, 2004)

I don't/can't do it.... but I agree it doesn't look too difficult. I am planning to try to build my own holder/stand eventually, but its just not real high on the priority list right now. I did buy a micro-syringe off EBay this summer for about 10.00... just like the ones listed on other websites for a couple hundred bucks. I think the magnifying stand will be the most expensive, but even those on Ebay are only 300-400 bucks for what you need to do the job.
SippyBee


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2004)

There was a workshop on this at EAS 2003
(Cornell U, Ithica NY), and everyone
who attended was able to accomplish the
basic tasks.

Sue Cobey (Ohio State) runs a workshop
on queen breeding and AI every year.
It isn't free, but what is these days?

My question would be as to what specific
semen and virgin combinations would a
typical beekeeper have that would be
worth the investment in AI hardware?

Me, I buy my queens. I don't build 'em,
I just fly 'em.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

I am in Oklahoma and only two counties away from known AHB. It turns out that AHB are a lot more extensive in Oklahoma than first thought. http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ahb/ The state has stopped testing swarms and is killing any feral bees it finds.

I like to raise my own 1st and 2nd generation queens for fun and just finished making 10 nuc boxes last month too. I tend to make my money selling nucs and not from honey. It is easier for me to sell nucs than fight with my wife and kid for the honey. They tend to give it all away. I think open mating for a year or two more would likely be safe. Since I am located in the city and a number of my hives end up in the city too, I dont feel comfortable doing it. 

I will either stop selling nucs or will be purchasing queens in bulk each year.

I also did a post a few days ago asking if anyone was a backyard beekeeper in AHB territory. There have not been any replies. 

To top it all off my wife is freaked out about the situation. I told her as long as I had marked queen of known heritage and checked to make sure they were still there on a routine basis there was not any danger. She said she understands, but she is still not comfortable. She is quite protective of our only child. 

In short, I am quite bummed out. 


[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited October 23, 2004).]


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>The state has stopped testing swarms and is killing any feral bees it finds.

And the feral survivors may be the only hope we have for the future.


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## SippyBees (Feb 17, 2004)

Well... My wife and I are trying to get in the queen/package business... and we have been given some very good help to get started. My wife does all the grafting for a major queen producer just down the road from us.... He cannot keep doing it himself much longer, but he wants to share his knowledge with someone before he gets out of it. It takes quite a bit of timing, knowing what to do with the bees at the right time etc etc to raise 10,000 queens a year.... He has "2" orders for next spring to sell 6000 queens between the two orders.... and he has a stack of orders about 8" high of letters and payments from MANY more people making orders.
SOMEONE has to produce queens... just like someone has to pollinate or sling honey. With AHB there will even be a larger demand for queens in the future... and they may even get to where I am in MS eventually. AI is the only way to guarantee your genes if you are breeding queens. I am not sure if you can economically AI productions queens by the 1,000's as a breeder... but at least I could assure my breeding stock's genes. Besides...if Cobey's in Ohio can sell a queen for 100's of dollars..... it sure does make a person think about it at least when the queen I raise now sells for 6.50 : ))
And I would BET mine will perform as well as hers... : ))
Well.... AI is just another aspect of the whole industry.... and I want to know as much as I can.... it's the only way to make educated decisions about what direction to go in how to manage the bees. I am GLAD there are people that just wanna fly'em and not make'em.... I hope to be there for ALL your queen and package needs.... : ))
Regards
SippyBee


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2004)

Magnet-man, you need to commuicate with
Gerald DeJong, PhD, who spends most of
his time in Brazil. He does quite a bit
of "ag extension" work with a group of
beekeepers who have transitioned from 
keeping European bees to "keeping" Africanized bees, and they are still in
business, still making honey, and not all
that unhappy with their lot in life.

But a BACKYARD AHB colony?
I don't think you need me to tell you that
this would not even be a good idea in Brazil,
where the only bees they have any more are AHB.

So, once AHB becomes "established" within
about 50 miles of your site, a prudent man
would relocate his operation far away from
people, livestock, roads, etc.


[This message has been edited by jfischer (edited October 24, 2004).]


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Jfischer, I plan staying with backyard beekeeping, but plan to make sure that all my queens are of EHB origin. I can do this by marking and checking of the queens to make sure they are not superceded. Having an AHB hive in the city would be insane. 

Oklahoma state officials, who have spoke to Texas officials, said there have been 40 AHB deaths in Texas since the bees moved in. A vast majority of the deaths were older beekeepers that are used to catching swarms and were unable to get away when the hives got large enough to go postal. The AHB swarms can be just as gentle as EHB swarm or when the hive is small. 

My bees are a hobby first and foremost. It might be interesting to produce 50 to 100 queens a year using AI. Doing any queen rearing business on a commercial scale takes more time and energy then I have. I had by-pass surgery when I was 42 and dont have real good blood flow to my heart. 

My thought on selecting drones is to select a hive that is gentle and produces well. Insert a frame of drone foundation and once capped cover it with a screen. When the drones emerge I can mark them with a unique color that will tell me how old they are. That way I will know what the heritage of the offspring is pure EHB. 

I know buying and flying is easier and usually better then making and flying. I dont mind if my bees are children of a lesser god. They will still be loved by their maker as long as they don't work for the post office.


[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited October 24, 2004).]

I plan on using my drone traps on all my hives during swam season. That way I can trap my marked queens and keep them. 


[This message has been edited by magnet-man (edited October 24, 2004).]


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## Gone2dlake (Jan 28, 2004)

Magnet and Sippybees... I would strongly encourage you both to contact Rob Mountain. I had the pleasure of hearing him lecture at the TN Beekeepers Confenrence this past weekend. Quite impressive to say the least! He is located in KY and is often on this site. He originated from South Africa and has incredible experience with queen rearing and Africanized bees. Just my $.02, but I do think he is very well worth speaking with.


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## bjerm2 (Jun 9, 2004)

I do AI and the hardest part besides the $$$$ is the collection of semen from the drones. Why AI, how about having pure XX bees in your hives to raise daughters for selling and saying that the breeder queens are pure XX queen. XX being a race, or type of bee. Any other type would become an mix race. The AI queens will keep the line and breeding your going for in you apiary. Heck if we just rode horses then we would not need 1/4 , harness, draft, Morgan, race, etc. horses. Just any old horse would do. Just my $0.02.
Dan


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Bjerm2 I would be concerned the daughters would happen to mate with some AHB drones. It is the drones that carry the defensive trait. I read a study that compared aggressiveness of EHB queens mated to AHB drones verses AHB queens mated to EHB drones. The EHB queens produced the more aggressive colonies. 

Since I am a back-yard beekeeper and many of my nucs end up in backyards, I would feel comfortable both ethical and liability wise knowing the nucs I sell are pure EHBs. I really dont want to take the chance that one day the queen that I raised was responsible for the death of a child.


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## bjerm2 (Jun 9, 2004)

Wise statement but the child might be allergic to stings. Its a chance we all take. I too am a small operator and just want to control my mating situation and breeding. I just like to know that my queens will keep their traits that I want for the hives and bees.
Dan


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

If a child dies from one sting then my queen breeding did not cause the death and I am guiltless. If the child receives 500 stings because the hive was Africanized, then it is my fault.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Dan, how many queens do you AI a year, whose equipment do you use, and how long did it take you to get proficient at it?


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## bjerm2 (Jun 9, 2004)

Bought my equippment from Sue Cobey. I do 18 breeder queens a year and it depends on how many orders I get for open mated queens. My area is saturated with my drones and I believe I have most of the queens mated to a large amount of my drones. IA is the only way I can expect 100% being my breed. I am still fumbeling with the semen, I find it hard still.
Dan


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## Rob Mountain (Dec 8, 2003)

Hey you all. Sorry that I have not been on the Queen & Bee Breeding bulletin board for some time.

Some really great news, my family and I became permanent residents last week. Between all that we had to get done, my job at KSU, and studying, and getting everything going for the South African Beekeepers tour next month, I have just run short of time. Oh yes, the Kentucky Queen Project is coming along just fine. Stella and I will have some very good queens next year. 

Gone2dlake  Thanks, yes, I really had a good time down in Tennessee. What a lovely bunch of Beekeepers you all are. 

I first learned to do I.I. at the age of 16 on African bees in South Africa, Dr. Jerzy WOYKE (http://www.sggw.waw.pl/~woyke/) taught me at a seminar at the Pretoria University. As thanks to my parents for inviting him and paying for him to come out to SA, he gave my father, who has now passed it on to me, his personal I.I. kit. While working in CA I used this kit. I would do about 240 queens a year. In 2000 I did Sue Cobeys I.I. instructors course. Through Kentucky State University I do teach I.I. Just a thought, I might do an I.I. course at the next HAS but as Vice Pres. of HAS I am going to have my hands full.

Sorry once again for not being as active as I should be on our Queen & Bee Breeding page.




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If a job is worth doing - Then do it well


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## janvanhamont (Mar 10, 2004)

For Magnet-man
Where can I obtain a video, a text book or articles on artificial insemination
[email protected]


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## Rob Mountain (Dec 8, 2003)

Susan Cobey at

Ohio State University.
Dept. Of Entomology.
400 D Aronoff Lab.
318 West 12th.
Columbus, OH 43210 USA
(614) 292-7928
FAX (614)292-5237
[email protected]

Web page at http://www174.pair.com/birdland/Breeding/index.html 


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If a job is worth doing - Then do it well


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