LCBC (Lamoille County Beekeepers Club)/WSBA Honey Bee Conservation Queen Rearing, Grafting, Instrumental Insemination Outreach Workshop.
To receive the full registration form please email Anthony Pauly at Anthony.pauly_jr@yahoo.com
Presented by Jean Ball from WSBA and based on the system developed by UC Davis research professor Susan Cobey.
Loc: 2187 Cole Hill Rd Morrisville, July 6 14, Starts 9am- 5. Suggested Donation of $125
Lamoille County Beekeepers Club & WSBA are pleased to be able to bring you a special treat... Queen Rearing and Instrumental Insemination Hands-On Workshop! Workshop Objective: A hands-on opportunity to expand your skills, breed your own bees, avoid emergency queen-less situations (or know what to do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation), learn hive manipulation techniques and, begin raising queens in your own apiary... all in effort to become a more well- rounded beekeeper who has many tools in your beekeeping toolbox and to support a broader understanding of the management of honeybee colonies.
Workshop will be presented by Ms. Jean Ball: Director of Apiary Resources & WSBA Board Member (West Sound Beekeepers Association, westsoundbees.org) Class space is limited, prepayment and sign up required. If there is a strong turnout of interest we will be looking for experienced volunteers to assist (experience very helpful but not necessary). THAT means volunteers will be required to attend 2 days (both Saturday and Sunday) so that they may gain some experience to assist with students the following day. Although this is state-of-the-art technique you do not need to be an advanced beekeeper to attend this event. This program is designed for journeyman and second year beekeepers but, beginners with a healthy load of previous knowledge are also encouraged to attend. WSBA encourages our beekeeping youngsters to help out with grafting, they have the benefit of infrequently suffering from old eyes, a real treat when selecting those tiny larvae to graft! A suggested donation of $125 is requested to cover some of the travel and event expenses. After expenses are paid the remaining proceeds will be split between WSBA & VBA. Lunch will be provided.
Workshop topics Sunday:
• Grafting worker larvae into queen cups and then installing them in a colony prepared as a "queen grower colony". First discussion and then hands-on practice.
• Discussion of various methods employed by beekeepers to rear queens with demonstrations in the apiary including frame manipulations. Demaree, Doolittle, Cloake Board, Walk-away split, Swarms...to name a few.
• Inspection of previous day's grafts (from volunteer training) to see what the bees think of our efforts.
• Break for LUNCH
• Video Presentation of instrumental insemination technique.
• Discussion and demonstrations on: Queen handling, marking, wing clipping, anesthesia, queen banking, queen hotels, queen castles (and how to arrange the frames for your new queen), queen selection (not all queens are created equal), assessing queen performance, etc.
• Drone eversion and collection of genetic material to inseminate our queens.
• Manual insemination presentation with the use of microscopes and a (fancy German apparatus that I cannot recall the name of!!??) Insemination apparatus.
• Discussion and reassembly of the apiary.
• Swimming in the swimming hole
Who is Susan Cobey? Susan Cobey, a bee breeder-geneticist, shares a dual appointment with the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis and Washington State University. Her research focuses on identifying, selecting and enhancing honey bee stocks that show increasing levels of resistance to pests and diseases. Cobey developed the New World Carniolans stock, a dark race of honey bees, in the early 1980s by back-crossing stocks collected from throughout the United States to create a more pure strain. “Over time, it has proven very productive, winter hardy, well-tempered and more resistant to pests and disease,” she said. Genetic diversity, the raw tools for selection, is critical “in maintaining colony fitness and resisting pests and diseases,” she said. Cobey teaches advanced courses on queen bee rearing and queen bee insemination, drawing students from throughout the world. For more info and credentials follow this link http:// beebiology.ucdavis.edu/ PEOPLE/susancobey.html
Who is Jean Ball? A former Vermont resident, Ms. Ball began her life on a small VT farm where she fell in love with farming. Because of her strong environmental advocacy and extensive food sensitivities, she teaches animal husbandry and raises and humanely processes organic livestock. Years after growing up in VT, Ms. Ball moved to WA where she studied, through partnership with WSBA, the Susan Cobey system of queen rearing, helping to establish, expand and, manage the WSBA training apiary and queen rearing program.

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