Breeding Resistant Bees Archives - Scientific Beekeeping https://scientificbeekeeping.com/varroa-management/breeding-resistant-bees/ Beekeeping Through the Eyes of a Biologist Sat, 30 Dec 2023 11:59:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-progress-report-2023/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 11:14:46 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=8355 Selective Breeding Progress Report 2023 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2023 In 2017 I proposed a simplified method for commercial queen breeders to select for varroa-resistant stock, and then undertook a demonstration project to see if it would work. After six years of strong selection, we appear to be making substantial progress! […]

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]]> Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance, Part 3; Shifting the Genetics of a Breeding Population https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-for-mite-resistance-part-3-shifting-the-genetics-of-a-breeding-population/ Fri, 13 Jan 2023 05:24:18 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=7891   Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance, Part 3 Shifting the Genetics of a Breeding Population Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   The alleles necessary for varroa resistance already existed in my stock of bees, so I didn’t need to “create” anything new. What I’m attempting to do via strong selective pressure is to (1) eliminate from our […]

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]]> Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance, Part 2; Mite Resistance and Genetic Expression https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-for-mite-resistance-part-2-mite-resistance-and-genetic-expression/ Fri, 13 Jan 2023 05:16:36 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=7882 Contents The Achilles’ heel of varroa. 2 Genotype vs. Individual- or colony-level phenotype. 2 gene regulation. 3 An example of the differential expression of genes in the honey bee. 4 What Is our own bees’ mechanism(s) for Resistance?. 6 Testing for Uncapping behavior 9 Is there a Cost to the colony for resistance?. 10 Our […]

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]]> Walking the Walk Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance; 2022 Update, Part 1 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/walking-the-walk-selective-breeding-for-mite-resistance-2022-update-part-1/ Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:52:44 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=7812 Contents Resistance vs. Tolerance or “Survival” 1 Managed apiaries vs. natural evolution. 2 Background. 3 The necessity of Mechanical Agitators 3 The resistant colonies 6 So what’s our progress so far?. 10 A built-in lag inherent in open mating programs 13 Exhibit A: Mite-count tracking for our 2022 breeders 14 Coming. 16 References. 16   […]

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]]> Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance: Walking the Walk https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-for-mite-resistance-walking-the-walk/ Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:09 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=5088 Contents Selective breeding for mite resistance. 4 The 2018 season. 4 A visit to France. 12 My spring surprise. 13 Selection vs. Bottlenecking. 16 Choosing the breeders. 17 The big question ― heritability. 18 The importance of the drone pool 19 A Primer on Bee Genetics. 19 Bottom line. 21 Acknowledgements. 22 References. 22   […]

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]]> Selective Breeding for Mite Resistance: 1000 hives, 100 hours https://scientificbeekeeping.com/selective-breeding-for-mite-resistance-1000-hives-100-hours/ Sat, 27 Oct 2018 21:11:03 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=3512 Contents Quick summary. 1 First assessment—early July. 1 Breeder disappointment. 2 Second through fourth assessments. 3 The final tally. 3 The Cost of the selective breeding program.. 4 what’s next. 4 Control of matings. 5 Analysis of the late-season Failure to Maintain low mite levels. 5 Could the spikes have come from mite reproduction?. 11 […]

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]]> The Varroa Problem: Part 11- The Math of the Mite https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-11/ Sat, 11 Nov 2017 07:59:50 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=3295 The Varroa Problem: Part 11 The Math of the Mite Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2017      I’ve previously written about how the seasonal buildup and decline of the honey bee colony is a function of the birth and death rates of the workers [[1]].  Varroa follows a similar buildup and decline […]

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]]> The Varroa Problem: Part 10-Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-10/ Tue, 17 Oct 2017 17:09:54 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=3259 The Varroa Problem: Part 10 Smokin’-Hot Mite Washin’ Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ September 2017      If you had asked me even a month ago as to how many of your hives to sample for varroa, I’d have suggested using Katie Lee’s plan of 8 hives per apiary [[1]] (in truth, we’ve rarely […]

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]]> The Varroa Problem: Part 9- Knowing Thine Enemy https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-9/ Sat, 29 Jul 2017 22:11:16 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=3214 The Varroa Problem: Part 9 Knowing Thine Enemy First published in ABJ August 2017 Updated Dec 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com      “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”– Sun Tzu.  We are all beekeepers; we are also all varroa keepers (some of us better […]

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]]> The Varroa Problem: Part 8 – Regulatory Cascades, Varroa Tolerance, and a Moon Shot https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-8/ Sat, 29 Jul 2017 21:54:02 +0000 https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?p=3208 The Varroa Problem: Part 8 Regulatory Cascades, Varroa Tolerance, and a Moon Shot Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2017      In writing this series, I skipped ahead over some details so that I could publish my suggestions for setting up a breeding program for mite resistance in time for this season’s queen […]

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