Review of ORHBS Program Objective -Selection for local disease Resistant Honey bee Stock -Tracheal Mite -AFB -Other brood diseases -Varroa ORHBS breeders – 2012 – 11 ORHBS Breeders – 2013 – 8 ORHBS Breeders – 195 colonies tested OBBA want and needs more breeders – High queen and nuc demand – More stock for genetic selection How to become involved – OBA, OBBA and ORHBS registration – Queen rearing and breeding workshops

How to become and ORHBS breeder 1)Registered OBA member 2)Registered OBBA member - $20 3)Pay for your OHRBS program fees -$150 – 10 colonies -$50 for every 10 additional -Hygienic, varroa, nosema, trachea

TTP Services - Hygienic Behaviour

Varroa Shakes

Nosema and Trachea Trachea – Quick Test 2006 – heavy monitoring Nosema – Change in sampling date important – Mid May – Mid June

Percentage of bees positive for Nosema infection by season in 2012 and 2013 in Southern Ontario. Seasonality – proportion of nosema infected bees

What was not provided to breeders Protocol for assessing other important honey bee characteristics How to use, evaluate and compare genetic characteristics

CAAP Project Formalized Breeding program Activities – Consulting Breeders, Honey producers, academics – Priority Characteristics – Definition of Characteristics – Standardize selection methods – Simple evaluation/comparison program – Flexible with different breeding programs

Formal Selection Program Queen Rearing Chapter Excel selection sheet New TTP Workshop

Ontario Queen Rearing Manual Low Defensive behaviour Honey Production Overwintering Ability Spring Build-up Low Swarming Tendency Solid Brood Pattern Hygienic Behaviour – Varroa, AFB, and other brood disease resistance Queen Longevity Resistance/Absence of other diseases (nosema, chalk brood, sac brood) Comb Stability Grooming Behaviour Tracheal Mite Resistance

Key Aspects to selection procedure Define Characteristics Consistent 5 point system Put pressure on colonies Compare colonies with queens of the same age Same person judging results Compare results taken from the same day Compare results from same bee yards Queen rearing protocol must result in high quality queens

Low Defensive Behaviour “calm reaction of honey bees to normal management of a colony. Minimal need for smoke to maintain calm bees that do not sting is optimal”

Low Defensive Behaviour Pressure Do not test on a sunny day during a honey flow Test when bees are most likely to show defensive behaviour i.e. sunset, cloud day

Low Defensive Behaviour PointsTest result 50 stings, no smoke 4 1 sting, no smoke but no more stings after using smoke 31-4 stings, using smoke stings, using smoke stings, using smoke

Honey Production Increase in colony weight (honey) during a heavy honey flow over 1-2 weeks

Honey Production Breeder Colony Actual Colony Gain Yard Mean Gain = 30lbs Weight Gain Difference Colony A 50lbs 30 lbs 1.67 Colony B 40 lbs 30 lbs 1.33 Colony C 30 lbs 1 Colony D 20 lbs 30 lbs 0.67 Colony E 10 lbs 30 lbs 0.33

Honey Production PointsTest result 5 Group 1 weight gain (highest) 4 Group 2 weight gain 3 Group 3 weight gain 2 Group 4 weight gain 1 Group 5 weight gain (lowest)

Overwintering Ability 1)Consumption of overwinter feed 2) Population of bees in early spring

Consumption of overwinter feed 1) Calculate weight loss of individual breeder colonies coming out of winter (John Corner, 1985) Breeder Colony Yard Mean Fall Weight 40 kg – Actual Colony Spring Weight Overwinter weight loss Colony A 40 kg – 25 kg 15 Colony B 40 kg – 27 kg 13 Colony C 40 kg – 30 kg 10 Colony D 40 kg – 33 kg 7 Colony E 40 kg – 35 kg 5

Consumption of overwinter feed 2) Calculate Yard Mean Weight Loss of 5 breeder colonies successfully overwintered Breeder Colony Yard Mean Weight Loss = 10 Actual Colony Weight Loss Weight Loss Score Colony A 10 kg 15 kg 0.66 Colony B 10 kg 13 kg 0.77 Colony C 10 kg 1 Colony D 10 kg 7 kg 1.43 Colony E 10 kg 5 kg 2

Consumption of overwinter feed PointsTest result 5 Group 1 weight loss (lowest weight loss) 4 Group 2 weight loss 3 Group 3 weight loss 2 Group 4 weight loss 1 Group 5 weight loss (highest weight loss)

Spring population of overwintered colonies 1)Calculate average honey bee population by measuring frames of bees from selected breeder colonies on the same date.

Spring population of overwintered colonies Breeder Colony Actual # frames of bees/Colony Yard Mean #frames of bee/Colony = 7 Population Difference Colony A 9 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 1.29 Colony B 8 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 1.14 Colony C 7 frames of bees 1 Colony D 6 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 0.86 Colony E 5 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 0.71

Spring population of overwintered colonies PointsTest result 5 Group 1 overwinter population (highest) 4 Group 2 overwinter population 3 Group 3 overwinter population 2 Group 4 overwinter population 1 Group 5 overwinter population (lowest)

Spring Build-up The development in colony population is important in order to recover from overwintering population loss, increased honey production, providing sufficient populations for pollination services and nuc production Risk of high rate of spring build-up is that it can correspond with increased swarming tendency

Spring Build-up Breeder Colony Actual # frames of bees/Colony Yard Mean #frames of bee/Colony = 7 Population Growth Difference Colony A 9 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 1.29 Colony B 8 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 1.14 Colony C 7 frames of bees 1 Colony D 6 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 0.86 Colony E 5 frames of bees 7 frames of bees 0.71

Spring Build-up PointsTest result 5 Group 1 spring build-up (highest) 4 Group 2 spring build-up 3 Group 3 spring build-up 2 Group 4 spring build-up 1 Group 5 spring build-up (lowest)

Low Swarming Low swarming allows for colonies to build up populations at high rates and produce consistent high populations for pollination services and honey yield. Low swarming also reduces the risk of colonies unsuccessfully requeening themselves and loss of preferred genetics.

Low Swarming Pressure Colonies should be strong in order to encourage swarming tendency Limit space to encourage swarming

Low Swarming PointsTest result 5 No eggs in queen cell cups 4 Eggs in queen cell cups 3 Royal jelly in queen cell cups 2 Drawn queen cells 1 Swarming

Comb Stability Colonies that have good “comb stability” refers to characteristics that allow for ease of moving frames of bees. Managing honey bees is more efficient when the frames of bees are easily transferred and/or shaken, without bees running on the frame or flying into the air. This trait is especially useful when dividing colonies or making nucleus colonies.

Comb Stability PointsTest result 5Calm, no running, no flying, 1 shake to remove bees 4Some running bees, 2 shakes to remove bees, no flying 3Lots of running, flying when shaken, multiple shakes to remove bees 2Racing bees, falling/flying off frame 1Racing, flying, hard shaking no provocation

Hygienic Behaviour

PointsTest result 5 Group 1 hygienic >95% 4 Group 2 hygienic 75 - ≤95% 3 Group 3 hygienic 55 - ≤ 75% 2 Group 4 hygienic 35 - ≤ 55% 1 Group 5 hygienic < 35%

Queen Longevity Queens that lay fertile eggs, maintain solid brood patterns, do not swarm and keep low disease levels over a long period of time, can often maintain consistent results and genetic characteristics desired by beekeepers. It is recommended that breeder colonies be used for queen production once they reach their 3 rd year of age.

Queen Longevity PointsTest result 53 year old queens from Group 1 breeding colonies 43 year old queens from Group 2 breeding colonies 32 year old queens from Group 1 breeding colonies 22 year old queens from Group 2 breeding colonies 11 year old queens from Group 1 breeding colonies

Observational Characteristics used for culling disease susceptible colonies Sacbrood Chalkbrood Viruses AFB EFB

ORHBS of Selection Criteria Colony # Selection Criteria Criteria Weight Score X/5 Weighted Score 1 Longevity (3 years)100%55 Overwintering100%55 Defensive Behaviour100%55 Hygienic behaviour75%53.75 Honey Production50%52.5 Swarming Behaviour40%52 Comb Stability40%52 Brood Pattern40%52 Total Score 27.25

ORHBS Evaluation of Selection Criteria Colony 2 Selection CriteriaCriteria Weight Score X/5 Weighted Score 1Longevity (3 years)100%55 2Overwintering100%55 3Defensive Behaviour100%55 4Hygienic behaviour75%43 5Honey Production50%10.5 6Swarming Behaviour40%41.6 7Comb Stability40%52 8Brood Pattern40%52 Total Score 24.1 Colony Selection Criteria Criteria Weight Score X/5 Weighted Score 3 Longevity (3 years)100%55 Overwintering100%44 Defensive Behaviour100%55 Hygienic behaviour75%43 Honey Production50%52.5 Swarming Behaviour40%52 Comb Stability40%10.4 Brood Pattern40%52 Total Score 23.9

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“Is idealistic, but a breeding program should be” – Alison Van Alten -Start with 2-4 characteristics -Add on new characteristics one by one -Take the TTP workshops

Need for Queen and Nuc Producers in Ontario High losses Blueberry and Cranberry Pollination Western Demand

Acknowledgements Phil Laflamme Alison Van Alten Kelly Rogers Paul Kelly Ontario Bee Breeders’ Association