Posts by Richard Senior

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see the Varroa Resistant section here

As we progress through the programme to improve our bee stocks it pays to give some thought to how we are going to consolidate any improvements we may have gained through our efforts to establish our selected strain. We have been monitoring our colonies and keeping accurate records to enable us to see at a…

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Photo by Roger Patterson Queen Rearing Methods There are so many techniques of queen rearing, and so much has been written about them, that it may seem unwise to add any more. Studying too many methods can be a source of much confusion and leave one overwhelmed and unsure of how to proceed. Like most…

Colony Record Card How to use This card is designed to be a multipurpose card that can be used for normal hive management as well as for bee improvement in one apiary, multiple apiaries, or in a bee improvement group. The data collected on each card is for one colony. The summaries at the end…

Record-keeping: the selection of local stock The honey bee colonies in our area should be viewed as our resources for selection and improvement. We may only be responsible for a handful of those colonies so there is a great incentive to co-operate and work with other beekeepers in the area to increase our sphere of…

This initiative is available for all beekeepers, from the geographical area of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, to participate in. It is designed to promote the improvement of local bees and the development of local ecotypes and to avoid further input from imported bees. It is recognised that…

The Aims The aims of the Programme are to improve the quality of our honey bees and to provide an alternative to the importation of exotic sub-species, throughout the participating areas. It is believed that, through the selection of local and native honey bees, a hardy, docile and productive bee can result. This aim will…