GOING NORTH: COLONY REARING FOR SURVIVAL

by Mel Disselkoen

Indiana Beekeepers AssociationAnnual Fall Conference

November 6-7, 2009

MY PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: SELF-SUFFICIENT SURVIVAL

Dr. C. C. Miller Fifty Years Among The Bees

G.M. Doolittle Scientific Queen Rearing and A Year’s Work In An Out-Apiary

Solid Bottom Boards

Winter Outdoors

No Miticides

My objectives have been met

43rd PARALLEL: WHERE IT ALL STARTED

G.M. Doolittle42°58’

Mel Disselkoen42°54’

Dr. C.C. Miller42°15’

Rev. L.L. Langstroth (1)

42°39’

(1) Rev. L.L. Langstroth began keeping bees in Andover, Massachusetts in 1836 (Source: Eastern Apicultural Society)

LET’S GO BACK: GREAT LAKES AND ONTARIO BEEKEEPERSHAVE IDEAL CLIMATE, LUSH FLORA, AND PROFITABLE MARKETS

Climate favors both May and July Starts

Intense, overlapping honey flows

Climate doesn’t favor Africanized bee nor Small Hive Beetle

Opportunity for local and distance markets

No need to import

Opportunity to export

Centralized location

INDIANA: LOCATION-LOCATION-LOCATIONLocal and Export Market Potential Is Enormous

Indiana could supply bees for any-purpose-any-where-any-time

BEE

BEEKEEPER

HOW TO GET THERE: MAKE A BEE-LINE

10,000

68,000

100 180 583 1,0503,400

11,020

64,268

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

8-Mar 29-Mar 19-Apr 10-May 31-May 21-Jun 12-Jul 2-Aug

MITE LOAD: HONEYBEE VERSUS MITE REPRODUCTION STARTING WITH 100 MITES AND 10,000 BEES ON MARCH 8 IN THE GRAND

RAPIDS, MI AREA (43RD PARALLEL)

21-day honeybee gestational cycle:

Population growth

1 The mite load of a honeybee colony in the USA is 3200 mites (Mites of the Honey Bee, Dadant & Sons Inc. 2001, page 234)

June 21: Peak of brood rearing reached

Collapse

Mites

Bees

13-day mite gestational cycle: 8-Mar 21-Mar 3-Apr 16-Apr 29-Apr 12-May 25-May 7-Jun 20-Jun 3-Jul 16-Jul 29-Jul- - - - - - - - - - -— — — — — — —

3241890

6122

35705

19,836

18,000

58,000

28,000

20,000

12,000

Mite load reached;Hive in decline1

10,000

Bees

Mites

LEGEND

Day 22:Stimulus and medium

created by day 8. 4+ mites enter each

cell killing the larvae and themselves

Day 18:First larvae from

new queen

Day 15:New queen

laying

Day 5-14:New queen mates

Day 21: Last brood fromprevious queen

emerged(with mites)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

A fertile mite must have a medium to lay her eggs and a stimulus to start reproducing. The medium and stimulus are always on the 5th day of the larvae, day 8, one day before capping the cell

Days 9-20:Brood from previous queen capped therefore,

No medium - No stimulus But mites are with brood under cappings

Old queen carry-over

New split

SPLIT

Day 4:New queen

emerges

MITE BREEDING CYCLE BROKEN

Day 2:New

queen cell inserted

Days

Day 8:Medium

andStimulus

Days 1-7:(3 days eggs and 4 days larvae)

No medium – No stimulus

Honeybee gestational cycle

Varroa mite gestational cycle

UNLOADING THE MITE: MAKING STARTS BREAKS THE NORMAL BREEDING CYCLE OF THE MITE BY INTERRUPTING BOTH THE MEDIUM

AND THE STIMULUS

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

July OTS2-brood-frame

start

Aug 21-Aug 3-Oct Nov Dec

Adult bees Brood

POPULATION DYNAMICS OF A JULY START ARE VERY DIFFERENTTHAN A TRADITIONAL HIVE

Reaches 63,000 Bees With Queen Laying Minimum Of 1,000 Eggs/Day

Overwinter:

• Very young bees• Very young queen

• 5-7 frames• 5-6 pounds bees• Candy board with

pollen patty

Peak brood rearing reached in63 days or 3 brood cycles

Population

Brood rearing stops

COLONY REARING FROM START TO FINISH:Modern Beekeeping Is Tailored Beekeeping—Your Target Defines Your Approach

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Start

Jul

• July starts• Almond starts

• Feed and checkmating success

• Install candy boards and wrap

• Brood rearing begins slowly • Full-strength

hives• Apple starts• Blueberry starts

• Harvest May honey starts

• Almond starts now mature for pollination

• Transport almond starts