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HomeNewsNew Video: Selection Methods for Honey Bee Breeding

New Video: Selection Methods for Honey Bee Breeding

Washington State University, Honey Bee Health program has just released a video to help beekeepers improve their stock and overcome some of the obstacles they may face in their breeding efforts.  The selection and breeding of honey bees is perhaps the best long term and sustainable solution to the current issues facing beekeepers. Honey bee breeding poses unique challenges in that selection is at the colony and population level. This video presents a review of the complexities and basic selection methods. One of the most successful bee breeding programs, the Page-Laidlaw Closed Population Breeding Program, is described. Beekeepers can implement this program in working toward establishing and maintaining honey bee stocks that are productive, express increased resistance to pests and pathogens, and well adapted to their environment.  This video gives an overview of honey bee breeding and selection that will help both the commercial bee breeder and beekeeping collectives trying to develop locally adapted bees.

See: https://vimeo.com/380776410

Cobey, S., T. Lawrence, and S.Sheppard. 2019. Video: Selection Methods for Honey Bee Breeding. Washington State University Extension. Produced by Washington State University College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. https://vimeo.com/380776410.

Tim Lawrence
Tim Lawrencehttp://Honeybeeinsemination.com
Dr. Tim Lawrence is an associate professor and the Washington State University Extension director in Island County, Washington. He has his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in environmental sciences with a focus on human dimensions. He has conducted extensive survey research and the exposure level of neonicotinoids on honey bees. He has more than 25 years of Extension experience in both community development, and agricultural and natural resources. Tim has been keeping bees for 57 years, he holds a bachelor’s degree in apiculture and pomology; a Master of Science in agricultural economics and rural sociology; and was a commercial beekeeper for more than 20 years. He has an adjunct appointment the WSU entomology department and is part of the WSU honey bee health program.