A Closer Look at Factors Affecting Queen Quality by Clarence Collison

A lecture given by Clarence Collison at the 2018 National Honey Show entitled "A Closer Look at Factors Affecting Queen Quality" The National Honey Show gratefully acknowledge the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers for their support and Federation of Middlesex Beekeepers for their sponsorship. The quality of the honey bee queen is directly related to the development and productivity of the colony. There are numerous factors that can affect queen quality. In recent times many beekeepers report that queens are superseded soon after they are introduced into a colony. We will review several factors that may be responsible for this decline in queen longevity and quality. In addition to looking at her basic biology, we will develop answers to two basic questions: 1) how can you determine if you have a good queen? And 2) What makes a good queen? This will be the second presentation in the "mini programme". Clarence Collison As part of my undergraduate degree program majoring in entomology, I took my first course in beekeeping in 1966 which stimulated my interest in bees. During my Master’s program, I studied nectar secretion and how it affects the activity of honey bees in the pollination of hybrid pickling cucumbers. This research area was continued during my PhD program and was concerned with the interrelationships of honey bee activity, foraging behavior, climatic conditions and flowering in the pollination of pickling cucumbers. Throughout my career at The Pennsylvania State University and Mississippi State University, I have served as an Extension beekeeping specialist, taught beekeeping, trained graduate students, written numerous beekeeping publications, published two books and conducted many educational programs for the beekeeping community. For several years I chaired the “Master Beekeeper” certification program of the Eastern Apicultural Society of North America. I write a monthly column “A Closer Look” and prior to that “Do You Know” for Bee Culture magazine.