Betta Bees Research, located at the Invermay Agricultural Centre, carefully selects the top queen bees for artificial insemination in order to supply New Zealand beekeepers with peaceful and easy-to-handle bees.
Co-owner Robert Waddell mentioned that their breeding program influences around 30% to 35% of commercially kept bees throughout the country.
“We have a significant genetic presence in New Zealand,” he stated.
Betta Bees focuses on an Italian bee breed known for their gentle temperament.
Mr. Waddell explained that they assess traits such as docility, productivity, spring build-up, brood viability, and many others, with a selection of 95 queen bees available at their facility.
The primary aim of the program is to produce bees that beekeepers feel comfortable working with.
“Bees that are gentle are easier to handle during inspections … enabling commercial workers to effectively identify and address diseases,” he added.
“If a hive reacts aggressively when opened, commercial workers may not thoroughly inspect it, potentially missing crucial disease symptoms.
“A calm hive is a healthier hive.”
Mr. Waddell emphasized that bees can become aggressive when mating in the wild, and their program helps reduce the inheritance of aggressive traits.
“Aggressive traits tend to dominate in wild colonies, and given the significant beekeeping industry in New Zealand, commercial operators prefer bees that are manageable and suitable for thorough inspections.”
The top 20 queen bees displaying the most desirable traits are chosen for artificial insemination process, where virgin daughters are crossed with semen from drones within the same colonies, following the crushing of the drone.
The selected queen is then anesthetized for approximately two minutes, and using a fine glass tip under a microscope, the semen is introduced to her ovarian ducts.
laine.priestley@alliedmedia.co.nz
