Queen-Rearing

Today was a very interesting day.I attended a queen-rearing workshop sponsored by the state extension office. This was a class for intermediate beekeepers. Doug Shaw and I both enrolled and attended together.

The content was actually very different than what I expected. I thought there were going to be general principles discussed and a lot of options presented. The morning was spent learning about the Doolittle method of grafting. So, while there was a lot of general information covered, especially information about queen biology, it was all background for that specific method. So, instead if talking about splits like I thought it might be, it was a course on how to take honeybee larvae and transform them into queens 20 to 60 at a time.

The three presenters, Juliana Rangel (standing to the left in the photo), Jennifer Keller standing in the back without the veil), and David Tarpy (talking with his hands) really knew their stuff and were great at communicating. The morning was spent explaining. The Doolittle system is pretty straight forward and precise. I think I will be able to follow it.

The afternoon was spent with hands on activities. First we practiced grafting with tools and fake larvae. Then we all went outside to look at hives to see how the Doolittle technique might work in practice. The challenge I will have will be identifying the very young larvae that are needed to complete the grafts.

The only challenge was the number of people. I enjoyed the demographic. Most were slightly older men, like myself. In fact, I think I hit the center of the demographic.

The entire project got me thinking about the social psychological side of beekeeping. The entomologists are concerned about bees and bee handling techniques. I started asking questions about human data collection. I think I will have something to think about for a bit, including how to assess practices and problems and figure out the human side of the equation. It might be an interesting next step for my research (when things slow down with my real research). At least it could provide an occasional distraction.