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in the population. This system relies on advances in artificial insemination, which is
now routine in the bee-breeding world.
BEE BREEDING: A SUMMARY
This chapter has only skimmed the surface of bee breeding. Bee breeding
can, however, lead to a very interesting and even lucrative career as either
a researcher or breeder. Even the hobbyist beekeeper can institute an
improvement programme by rearing queens from their most productive,
gentle colony. While this may not always work - the new virgin queens may
mate with some not very nice drones - generally, if you keep trying, you
should see improvements in your yields of honey or in your bees' temper.
I mentioned in Chapter 8 that I had a Cecropian queen called Rose. I
tried propagating from her, but the results were awful. Obviously, her
characteristics did not combine well with those of the local Iberian bees. If
you recall the Africanized bee disaster where African bees were mated with
European bees, you will appreciate just how far things can go wrong. But, by
and large, in your own population you should be able to improve your bees
- and, in doing so, you will gain a huge amount of knowledge about bees.
There are many good topics on the subject, and the best of these are
listed in the 'Further reading' section at the end of this topic. As far as I
am concerned, I need to remember just one thing about bee breeding and
genetics: 'the drone doesn't have a father.' It is when I contemplate this that
I can only admire those who go on to become successful bee breeders.
 
 
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