To enhance the productivity of beekeeping farms, it is essential to cultivate healthy queen bees and drones. The Rural Development Administration, led by Director Kwon Jae-han, introduced methods for producing queen bees and assembling drone breeding colonies for beekeepers and breeders, emphasizing thorough preparation for generational replacement.
The quality of queen bees and drones directly affects the health and productivity of a bee colony. This is directly linked not only to honey production but also to the yields of other beekeeping products. Therefore, systematic management and appropriate environmental conditions are crucial when replacing generations of queen bees.
Cultivation of queen bees involves three main stages. The first stage is the formation of a queen bee cell (royal cell) breeding colony. This is typically done four days before transferring larvae, with the bee population consisting of six frames in the upper box and four frames in the lower box.
The second stage is creating an artificial queen bee cell. The artificial queen bee cell frame (larva frame) should be set up two hours before transferring the larvae to give the worker bees time to organize the environment.
The third stage involves transplanting the larvae. Young worker bee larvae, less than a day old, are transferred into the artificial queen bee cells, and on the eleventh day, when a new queen bee is born, the queen bee cell is separated and used on the twelfth day.
Drones play a significant role in maintaining genetic diversity in the bee colony by mating with the queen bee. Therefore, raising drones from a strong bee colony is effective. Ideally, a drone breeding colony is formed twenty days before transferring larvae. To induce swarming and promote drone laying, it is important to supply protein-rich substitute pollen and sugar solution and increase bee population size.
Additionally, the internal temperature of the beehive should be maintained at 32-35 degrees Celsius, and regular health checks should be conducted to prevent diseases.
Han Sang-mi, head of the beekeeping department at the Rural Development Administration, stated, “The formation of healthy queen bee and drone breeding colonies is a key element in maintaining the lifespan and productivity of a bee colony,” and she expressed hope for the continuation of stable beekeeping management through systematic management to produce excellent queen bees.
Meanwhile, the Rural Development Administration developed and distributed superior bee varieties such as ‘Jangwon Bee’, ‘Halla Bee’, ‘Jelly King’, ‘Royal No.1’, and ‘Bee School No.1’ to institutions in Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam regions last year. They plan to expand distribution to beekeeping farms by the end of this year.
For more details, contact the Beekeeping Division of the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences of the Rural Development Administration at 063-238-2841.