Is it time for beekeepers to support production of Illinois queens?

Is it time for beekeepers to support production of Illinois queens? Stu Jacobson Institute for Legal and Policy Studies University of Illinois at Springfield

A Queen’s Long, Hazardous Journey to Your Hive BREEDER COLONY CELL BUILDER MATING NUC QUEEN CAGE BANK SHIPPING CONTAINER

HAPPY TRAILS…??? 3-5 LOCATIONS & VEHICLES  YOUR HOUSE  [BANK?]  YOUR COLONY  ACCEPTANCE ?? PRODUCTIVE LIFE (1+ years) ???

Problems at Producer’s End: • Trying to produce a quality product for an audience which wants to pay as little as possible. BEEKEEPERS! • May have problems with skilled labor…sometimes pull queens too early. • ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR HEALTHIER OR BETTER QUEENS?

Problem Causes: Shipping • Temperature extremes—Penn State study--- queens exposed to freezing. • Also very high temperatures and dryness. • Chemical exposures—pesticides & cleaning agents. • Rough handling? They are bugs after all!

Shipping: Possible Solutions • Producer & customer have limited control. • Order “in bulk”—greater protection. • BUT--Battery cages need new design: queens at end of rows—less care & greater exposure. • Shipping overnight—worth the extra cost.

Problem Causes: Chemicals • Some producers have exposed developing queens to coumaphoz & Apistan. • Are you exposing queens to miticides? • At higher concentrations and with direct exposure--Queens may not develop or die. • However, chemicals absorbed into comb or into bees’ bodies & food for queens & larvae…will result in lower level exposures.

Problem Causes: Chemicals • At lower levels…queens may look normal, but stop laying within weeks. • Bees may fail to supercede them! • These things happened w/ 50+ queens. • Finally replaced 50% of queens. • Later we learned that the producer had fired their manager.

Chemicals: Possible Solutions • Before ordering: talk with queen producer, ask about chemical use, express concerns. • If in doubt—talk with another producer. • If have a problem—keep records, dates, etc—write, e-mail or call producer. • Bee Reasonable—don’t accuse!

Chemical Free Queens? • Producers may overuse miticides due to worries about customers’ tolerance for Varroa in package or shipping container. • Maybe we need to re-examine this. • Are a few Varroa as bad as failing queens?

Chemical Free Queens? • If you and others express your concerns, especially in writing… most producers should get the message. • There should be quite a market for “certified queens” produced with a minimum of chemicals! • Producers should specify how and when they treat with chemicals. • Utilize websites…or brochures.

Disease treatments: • When does producer treat for Nosema? • When for tracheal mite—if at all? • Treatments don’t affect queens, but these diseases can cause them to fail! • Producers should specify treatments and their timing.

Other concerns: • Are queens laying when removed from nucs? • How long are they banked? Applies to specific lots of queens. • “Fall” queens may have been banked for months.

What about queen introduction? • Assuming you received a healthy queen—how do you introduce her? • One commercial beekeeper I spoke with has only 50% success! • Mailing cage introduction can work well when good flow on--can also feed syrup. • Don’t’ stand at edge of bee yard and throw queen cage at a colony. 

More queen introduction • Need to go into brood chamber, remove queen, check for cells and brood. • Don’t introduce queen into colony with queen cells or laying workers. • Leave bees queenless for 24 hours. • Nuc introduction = most successful—but takes more time.

What about disease resistance? • Many producers claim they have disease resistant bees & queens. • For example, “We are selecting for hygienic behavior.” • Is this hype? Hopefully not—but in many cases it’s difficult to know. • Also…does their breeding program effectively maintain or increase disease resistance?

Disease resistant honey bees: • Select from a minimum of 40+ colonies which are tested several times a year. • Instrumental insemination to control genetics. • Otherwise--selection program will be much slower. • Also if drone mother colonies not DR—workers will be much less resistant.

Disease resistant lines: • There are 5 DR lines readily available: MN Hygienic, New World Carniolan, Buckfast, Russian and SMR (Smart). • The SMR ~“experimental”—said to be highly defensive; Russians? • MHYG & NWC--hygienic behavior reduces brood diseases—important because of increasing AFB resistance to antibiotics.

Disease resistance: • NWC, Russians & Buckfast resist HBTM. • Market for producers who sell disease resistant queens bred with DR drones? • At this time very few producers are doing so. • ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR DISEASE RESISTANT QUEENS?

Long term approaches to queenproblems: • In the “Queens’ Long Journey”…each stage of the trip can present hazards. • Should we look for ways to shorten the number of stages? • One approach: raise your own queens—worth another talk. • Miller method—take larvae from best queens--no grafting needed.

Raising own queens • Can raise about 20 queens. • Can make nucs by dividing hive bodies. • If colonies in the area are headed by Disease Resistant Queens… • Then colonies headed by your new queens will be more resistant than those from most purchased queens.

Raising Illinois queens: • If you enjoy producing queens perhaps should try to produce some to sell to other beekeepers. • Killion family raised thousands/year for decades. • Steve Staley has raised several hundred over the past three years.

Illinois queens: • If we’re really concerned about getting the best queens. • We should look to our own state—Ohio has several queen producers. [Indiana?] • Need to think “out of the box,” meaning thinking about introducing queens in May or June. • Otherwise have to be raised in the South.

Illinois queens: • We can produce queens in Illinois, but not much demand at this point. • Without a market…few want to try to raise queens for sale = ”Catch 22.” • However, beekeepers could produce queens as an additional source of income…diversification.

These beekeepers should start small and build a market—work with those who sell queens and packages in the state. • Can appeal to those who want queens raised with a minimum of chemicals. • And, those who want as Disease Resistant queens as possible.

Illinois Disease Resistant Queens • Can produce stock which is significantly resistant by buying breeder queens. • Use purchased DR queens for drone mother colonies. • With this approach, can produce purely mated NWC or MNHYG queens, or crossbreds of DR lines. • These would be among the best Disease Resistant queens available anywhere!

Is it time for beekeepers to support production of Illinois queens?