Breeding the Honeybee

Brent Nixon
  • 5.0 (1)
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Breeding the Honeybee

All about bee breeding. Episodes range from: bee genetics, stories about bee breeding, analysis of research and interviews with people in this field.

  1. 34) Krispn Given (US)

    6D AGO

    34) Krispn Given (US)

    Krispn is an Apiculture Specialist at Purdue University’s Department of Entomology in West Lafayette Indiana USA. He runs a program breeding mite biting bees. Krispn is also the co-owner of a company that produces high quality instrumental insemination equipment made in the US.  Apis Engineering's Website Krispn's profile at Purdue University  Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi! Podcast proudly brought to you by  Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia) https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/ Episode Music https://audionautix.com/

    24 min
  2. 33) Marc Hillen (NO)

    MAR 16

    33) Marc Hillen (NO)

    Marc is a queen breeder and uses instrumental insemination to produce every queen in his apiary. In this episode we cover some of the challenges of II and the interesting way in which they handle varroa in Norway.  Norwegian beekeepers can purchase Marc’s queens from his website. Marc can also be contacted through his Facebook page If you liked this episode you might want to consider joining the Facebook group for this podcast. It's a great way to leave feedback, get notifications on new episodes and participate in live sessions. Podcast proudly brought to you by  Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia) https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/ Email Brent  brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au

    32 min
  3. 32) AQBBA Breeding Program 2024-29

    12/17/2024

    32) AQBBA Breeding Program 2024-29

    In this live podcast with Peter Czeti, we discuss the Australian Queen Bee Breeders Association AQBBA breeding plan from 2024-2029. This live session included a QandA. If you would like to hear that part you can watch is on the 'Breeding the Honeybee' Facebook group.  If you would like to be part of the program please contact Peter on the AQBBA website.  This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au Episode Music https://audionautix.com/

    25 min

  4. 11/16/2024

    31) Rerun of the Pollen Nation Podcast (US)

    This is a rerun from 'The Pollen Nation Podcast' with Matt Walker. In this episode Matt covers the issue with raising queens too early in the season. Matt's Website Podcast link Facebook YouTube

    16 min
  5. 30) Kirk Webster (US)

    10/16/2024

    30) Kirk Webster (US)

    Kirk has been keeping bees for over 50 years and has not treated for varroa since 2002. His methods are inspired by his experiences with organic farming. Kirk’s approach to varroa is very hands off. He maintains the colonies by producing nucs that he overwinters. Apart from some issues resulting from modern agriculture, Kirk feels as though his beekeeping experience at present is almost the same as before he first came across varroa.  You can read more about Kirk's work here https://kirkwebster.com/ Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast  https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybee This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.auwww.nixonqueenbees.com.au 3:52 Why people should raise their own queens  4:58 Kirk’s start raising queens  8:04 Kirk’s mating nucs  10:50 Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey 11:34 Feeding mating nucs  16:18 Early experiencing with selective breeding  19:11 Selection for varroa  23:57 Starting the treatment free route  26:45 Nucs that survived winter  28:28 Survivor stock 29:29 Last treatment in 2002 31:47 Mite counts  35:02 Open apiary  Episode Music https://audionautix.com/

    39 min
  6. 29) Nick Milne (NZ)

    09/16/2024

    29) Nick Milne (NZ)

    Nick Milne is a third-generation beekeeper and owner-operator of Blue Sky Queen Bees and Backyard Bees in Nelson, New Zealand.  2:31 Working in Canada  4:05 Kids and bees  6:08 Getting into queen rearing  8:21 Queen breeding in New Zealand and colour  12:55 Pyramid structure for queen breeding  14:50 Bringing in mated queens for genetic diversity  16:18 Bringing in cells for genetic diversity  16:38 Rea Butler 17:23 VSH drone lines  19:34 Selling queen cells  22:01 What Nick sells  23:00 Nick’s other business - Backyard Bees  27:04 Where to find Nick online https://backyardbees.nz/ https://buyqueenbees.nz/ Guide to shipping queen cells as discussed in the episode  https://www.projectapism.org/resources You’ll find the download link if you scroll down.  Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi! https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybee Podcast proudly brought to you by  Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia) https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/

    29 min
  7. 28) Ron Clarke and Rob Manning (AU)

    08/17/2024

    28) Ron Clarke and Rob Manning (AU)

    Rob and Ron have been working together in the West Australian bee industry for many years. Together they run a breeding program using instrumental insemination which Ron learnt from Gretchen Wheen and Sue Cobey. In this episode we discuss bee breeding, the Rottnest program, Joe Horner’s drone rearing and the story of the Karri tree, which Rob is writing a book about.  1:30 When Rob and Ron started working together 3:14 Rottnest breeding program 5:14 Gretchen Wheen and Mathilde 'Tilly' Kühnert 7:14 When Ron Learnt Instrumental insemination  7:52 Sue Cobey visits Australia in 2009 9:33 Challenges of Instrumental insemination 12:00 Joe Horner’s drone rearing system 14:02 Drone drift 15:37 Queens you can get from Rob and Ron 19:20 Rob’s book on the Karri forest in Western Australia  22:29 Baiting  Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast  https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybee Record a soundbite about your queen rearing here  https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/pages/podcast  This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au Episode Music https://audionautix.com/

    23 min
  8. 27) Cory Stevens (US)

    07/16/2024

    27) Cory Stevens (US)

    Cory Stevens is a VSH queen breeder from Missouri, USA. He has a business called Steven’s Bee Company which offers AI VSH breeder queens, VSH virgin queens and raw honey free of miticides and antibiotics. Cory's Website and Facebook https://www.stevensbeeco.com/https://www.facebook.com/stevensbeeco Comment or leave feedback on the episode post in the Facebook group for this podcast  https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybee Record a soundbite about your queen rearing here  https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/pages/podcast  This podcast is proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees in Ballarat Australia. Email Brent at brent@nixonqueenbees.com.au 00:00 Introduction 1:50 Guest question - Matt Crane - Is there a correlation between colour and VSH? 3:20 Guest question - Steve Sammut - Is there a correlation between UBeeO and VSH? 5:00 Guest question - Paul Roder - Is there a correlation between bald brood and VHS? 7:00 Cory’s commercial program in which he sends out breeders and gets back high performing F1s 8:50 How the F1s in the program are assessed  10:07 UbeeO and overwintering  12:53 Harbo Assay 13:42 Are F1s in the program treated? 17:16 What traits are desirable in returning F1s? 19:10 Colour and VSH - Harbo Episode Music https://audionautix.com/

    23 min
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About

All about bee breeding. Episodes range from: bee genetics, stories about bee breeding, analysis of research and interviews with people in this field.

Information

  • Creator
    Brent Nixon
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Brent Nixon
  • Show Website
    Breeding the Honeybee

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