The influence of breeding timing and methods on the productivity of queen bees at different periods of colony development

The article considers the prospects for the development of beekeeping, which envisages an increase in the number of bee colonies and apiaries in farms of various forms of ownership. It is determined that one of the main conditions for the successful development of the industry is to provide apiaries with high-quality queen bees. Special attention is paid to the influence of the age of the larvae on the quality of the grown queens. Seasonal and environmental factors that affect the quality of queens are also considered, in particular weather conditions, the presence of honey collection, and the amount of feed reserves in the bee nest. It is shown that the optimal conditions for growing queens are periods of intensive nectar production. Modern methods of artificial and natural breeding of queens are presented and their advantages and disadvantages are identified. The aim of the study was to establish the influence of breeding terms and methods on the productivity of queen bees in different periods of family development. During the studies, egg production and the development of bee colonies were assessed using the method of analogs to form comparable groups. The dynamics of egg production of queens bred artificially at different times were monitored. It was found that queens hatched on May 10 had the best egg production and brood development indicators in all accounting periods. The average daily egg production of queens of this group was the highest, exceeding the similar indicators of queens hatched on May 17 and 24. Analysis of brood development also confirmed the superiority of queens of early hatching periods in terms of the number of hives occupied by bees. At the initial stages of development, swarm queens had the advantage, however, during the period of maximum productivity (May–July), artificially hatched two-year-old queens, especially group 10.05, provided higher and more stable egg production. It was concluded that the choice of the optimal term for hatching queens is an important factor in increasing the efficiency of beekeeping, which will contribute to a more intensive development of bee colonies and their readiness for the main honey harvest.