BeesCene page 36 Volume 23, #2, JUNE 2007

Kootenay Queen Testing Project
Testing Queens for Varroa Resistance and Economic Performance In the Southern Interior of British Columbia

By Elizabeth Huxter, Project Manager

The BC Bee Breeders' Association project continues into its second summer with plans for two Vancouver Island field days (see calendar) in June and one in Cranbrook. Just recently, we have been able to import some SMR queens to test for next year. Also we have been able to get some of the stock on Vancouver Island using Jenter kits. The kits allow for no bees' wax just the eggs on plastic cups. One set of kits were used to get the queens to lay on them in the selected hives and then a kit that had not been in contact with the hives had the pins transferred to it and used for transport to the island. Now that the project colonies are stabilized, and our management practices have been standardized, it's up to the bees to do their thing and let us monitor their performance. Future plans for the spring of 2008 include propagating queens for sale. These will be selected from the lines that show the most resistance to varroa mites and exhibit top economically important traits.

As with any undertaking, there have been trials and tribulations to reach each level of knowledge. Last summer we had a few near disasters with Queen Shipments, including one envelope that nearly baked inside a metal post box before it was rescued. Happily they all survived, but we'd like to share the following guidelines so that others can avoid such mishaps.

Advice for Shipping and Receiving Queens: 3 Hole Wood cages with attendants Label cages and staple to thin wood bar Priority Post envelope with holes Mark envelope with "Live Bees" on the address side Have parcel picked up from Post Office direct Label with "Phone on Arrival" with phone number clearly printed on envelope

A tremendous amount of work has already gone into this project; we would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Beekeeping Industry Development Initiative and the following people:

• Lance Cuthill
• Dr. Guzman
• Adony Melanthopoulos
• Brenda Jager and Krystal Thorpe
• Dr. Currie
• Heather Higo
• Dr. Szabo
• John Gibeau
• Hardie Honey
• Kerry Clark
• Terry Huxter
  

Stay posted as we report back on the summer of 2007. Everyone stands to benefit from our success.