Platform for beekeeping practice and know-how

Asian bees have developed an extraordinary technique to defend themselves against attacks by giant hornets. They cover their hive with animal droppings. 

The queen has a lifespan of 4–5 years. This may seem long. However, it takes 1–2 years to identify a valuable queen and select her for (re)production. To preserve this queen for as long as possible, her egg laying must be managed carefully, as it depends on the number of spermatozoa present in her spermatheca. Various techniques make it possible to modulate egg laying: colony size, the surface of empty cells, the population of young bees, protein resources …

A study involving Inra, Acta and the ITSAP-Institut de l’abeille examines the physiological mechanisms involved in the winter survival of honey bees. The researchers showed that a protein with antioxidant properties, vitellogenin, is associated with a 30% increase in the probability of colony survival during winter.

This study entitled “Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being” estimates that “75%
of major crops – cereals, fruits – depend on pollination by animal species”. Their disappearance would lead to a loss of 5 to 8% of global agricultural production, which would trigger an increase in potential resurgences of diseases linked to our dietary balance (heart disease) and would increase “by 1.4 million per year, the number of additional deaths”.

Matthieu Guichard (Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Bern) conducted a long-term study between 2010 and 2018 on approximately 1000 Carnica honey bee colonies and approximately 1000 Mellifera honey bee colonies, aiming to determine the heritability of various traits: honey yield, gentleness, comb adherence, swarming tendency, hygienic behaviour, and Varroa infestation.

Apple and pear trees are among the main pome fruit trees in Switzerland. They are of great economic importance, and numerous varieties are cultivated. They are deciduous trees or shrubs. The flowers are hermaphroditic and are white to slightly pink with yellow anthers in the cultivated apple (M. domestica, originally M. sylvestris), whereas they are white (rarely pink) with dark red anthers in the cultivated pear (P. communis, originally P. pyraster).

Beekeepers use many methods to unite bee colonies, and some very violent ones demonstrate a clear lack of respect for the bees. The only advantage of such methods is their speed, but they pay little attention to what happens to the queens, the foragers, and the bees in general. The gentlest and most commonly used method is very probably the “superposition” method. This procedure is relatively simple, accessible to both beginner and experienced beekeepers, and if the few rules discussed in this article are respected, the uniting of colonies should proceed without any problems.

Gilbert Duruz is a beekeeper in Switzerland, in the upper Rhône Valley. He is a beekeeping trainer, queen breeder, tester for the Swiss Romand selection programme of the Carnica bee, and president of the Association Suisse Romande des Éleveurs de Reines (ARAE). He presents his breeding and renewal method under continental and mountain conditions.

The winter months can be used to clean all beekeeping equipment. This may not only help to prevent certain diseases, but it is also a pleasure to find tools in good condition in spring, and above all tools that are not sticky.

Since antiquity, honey has been consumed for its sweetening properties and used for its therapeutic effects. Today, it has largely been supplanted in the diet by beet sugar. In medicine, however, its bactericidal and wound-healing effects on chronic wounds are being rediscovered. Beeswax is favoured by cosmetic manufacturers, while royal jelly and propolis are recognised in dietetics. The history of the use of honey and products of the beehive is fascinating.

Within the colony, the role of the drone is often poorly understood or even regarded as secondary. Yet males play a fundamental role in the transmission of genetic diversity. Gathered in so-called drone congregation areas comprising 1,000–15,000 individuals, they originate from many different colonies, sometimes located 10–15 km away. During the so-called drone flight, they mate with queens in succession (often up to 20 consecutive matings), thereby ensuring genetic mixing and preventing inbreeding.