Breeder Selection

Breeder colony selection is choosing, from among the best in the apiary and on the basis of at least a year of records and test results, the colonies from which larvae will be taken to rear new queens and which will produce drones. A well-chosen breeder (breeder queen colony) spreads its good traits through the whole apiary with every queen reared from it. Selection rests on assessing wintering, health, gentleness, swarming tendency and yield together.

What is a breeder colony, and what types are there?

A breeder colony is a colony selected so that its genetics can be multiplied. In breeding, three roles are distinguished:

• Larva breeder (dam line): The colony from which young larvae are taken for grafting. This is the mother of the new queens.
• Drone breeders (sire line): Colonies given drone comb so that they rear plenty of drones. They produce the males the new queens will mate with.
• Back-up breeder: A colony headed by a tested daughter queen reared from the main breeder, so that the line can continue if the main breeder is lost.

The larva breeder and the drone breeders must not be closely related; otherwise inbreeding increases and the brood becomes spotty.

What should you look for in a breeder candidate?

For a colony to be a breeder candidate, it must meet the following minimum requirements:

1. It must have been monitored for at least a year: It must have been through one winter and one full season with records.
2. The queen must be young but proven: Queens in their second year are usually chosen; with an old queen the risks to laying and lifespan increase.
3. It must show no signs of disease: No brood disease, chalkbrood or wing deformity should have been seen.
4. It must have strong hygienic behaviour: A high removal rate in at least two tests.
5. Mite growth must be low: A mite load below the apiary average under the same treatment schedule.
6. It must be gentle and steady on the comb: A good season average (at least 3 on a 1–4 scale).
7. It must not have started swarm preparations: It must not have drawn queen cells with larvae despite having enough room.
8. It must have come through winter strong: Reasonable winter consumption, fast spring build-up.
9. Its yield must be above average: Assessed against the average of its own apiary.
10. The brood must be solid: Few scattered empty cells in the capped brood.

If possible, look for one more requirement: its sisters should be good too. If colonies headed by queens from the same mother also do well, the candidate's quality is not luck but a trait of the line.

What should you look at through the year to select breeders?

How is breeder selection done, step by step?

1. Draw up the score table: Gather the season averages for each colony in a single table.
2. Apply the culling limits: Remove colonies with definite reasons for culling, such as disease, swarming, low gentleness or low hygiene.
3. Rank the rest: Rank them with a simple total score that gives weight to the traits most important to you.
4. Make a shortlist: Set aside the top few colonies as breeder candidates.
5. Check relatedness: Using the pedigree records, choose larva and drone breeders from different lines.
6. Assign the roles: Make the best one the larva breeder and the other good, unrelated ones drone breeders; set one aside as a back-up.

In the example, colony 21, which gave the most honey, could not become a breeder because of its bad temper. Yield alone is not a deciding criterion.

How should a breeder colony be looked after?

• Keep it strong and well fed: During the period when larvae are to be taken, plenty of pollen and nectar or supplementary feeding is needed.
• Avoid unnecessary interference: Reduce the risk of the queen being injured or lost.
• Don't let it swarm: Give it enough room; a breeder that swarms costs you both the queen and time.
• Make back-ups: Rear a few daughter queens from the breeder early in the season and put them into back-up colonies.
• Make it easy to take larvae: Before grafting days, put an empty, light-coloured worker comb in the hive to get young larvae of the same age.

How are drone breeders chosen?

Drone breeders should be chosen by criteria as strict as those for the larva breeder: gentle, hygienic colonies with a low mite load that winter well. These colonies are given drone comb a few weeks before grafting and are fed during any break in forage. In the same period, drone brood can be limited in colonies with poor traits; this raises the share of selected lines in the local drone pool.

When should a breeder be replaced?

• If colonies headed by the daughter queens reared from it have not given the expected results.
• If the breeder queen has aged and her laying has weakened.
• If signs of disease have been seen in the colony.
• If one of her tested daughters has performed better than her mother.