Tasmania’s largest beekeeping operation has taken a big leap forward as it learns to rear its own mated queen bees through artificial insemination.
The company, part of an international group with apiaries in New Zealand, the United States, France, and the Netherlands, has previously relied on imported queen bees.
Following outbreaks of the destructive varroa mite on the Australian mainland, a ban on imports saw Tasmanian Pollination Services try traditional queen-rearing methods.
But over the past two seasons, those methods just haven’t been cutting it.
“It’s hard to make queens in Tasmania because of the volatility in weather between September and December” Mick Palmer from Tasmanian Pollination Services said.
“The queens have to fly to mate. If it’s raining or windy, they don’t get to fly so they don’t get to mate properly.”
Varroa mite is a parasite that kills honey bee colonies and transmits viruses to its hosts.
So far it has become established in New South Wales and spread to Victoria, since entering the country in 2022.
A strong queen bee (pictured with longer abdomen) is crucial for a healthy hive. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Artificial insemination a game-changer
With 6,000 hives to manage, the team at Tasmanian Pollination Services has not been able to meet its need for mated queens.
It’s hoped artificial insemination well help them overcome the problem.
“It’s a big step for the company, brought on by not being able to buy queen bees from the mainland,” Mr Palmer said.
“We probably should have done this earlier, but our hand is forced at the moment and we’re learning the process of genetic improvement.”
With special permits, they’ve brought in bee semen from the mainland for their artificial insemination program.
“We’re learning how to inseminate bees under a microscope,”
he said.
“It’s completely new to us, but we have to adapt.”
The team hope to produce 3,000 to 4,000 mated queens a season to strengthen their pollinating bee population.
Bee artificial insemination is a delicate procedure used to produce mated queen bees and strong, healthy colonies. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
Global effort to protect bees
To help them master the technique, Rene Van Der Molen travelled from the Netherlands to train the team.
He’s seen firsthand what happens when varroa mites get out of control.
“The mites damage the larvae, so when the bees are born, they might not even have wings. Or they’ll have wings that look fine, but they just can’t fly,”
he said.
Rene Van Der Molen is teaching beekeepers to artificially inseminate queen bees. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
He hopes the artificial insemination program will help to keep the mite out of Tasmania by breeding queen bees with strong, disease-resistant genetics.
One of Mr Van Der Molen’s students in Tasmania, Angela Olivier, is a passionate beekeeper who has embraced the challenge.
“We’ve been at this for a week-and-a-half now. [They’ve been] long, intense hours but I’ve been in beekeeping for 20 years, and this feels like the cherry on top,” she added.
Angela Olivier is also a passionate beekeeper.
(ABC News: Kate Nickels)
Taking control of bee genetics
Tasmanian Pollination Services intends to use artificial insemination in the fight against other bee viruses and diseases, such as chalk brood disease, which is prevalent in Tasmania.
The artificial insemination program will allow the company to fast-track genetic improvements, but it was not a quick process.
“It’s not like breeding cows or sheep. It takes years just to make small genetic improvements,”
Mr Palmer said.
Mick Palmer from Tasmanian Pollinations has had to fast track an artificial insemination program to help maintain the company’s 6,000 hives.
(ABC News: Kate Nickels)
Breeding a delicate process
Artificial insemination, once just a tool for scientists, is now a game-changer for commercial beekeepers.
“This process is about understanding how we can manipulate genetics and speed up improvements,” Mr Palmer said.
“If varroa [mite] ever reaches Tasmania, we want to be prepared.”
With stronger, healthier bees, Tasmania’s apiaries are setting themselves up for a more resilient industry futureproofing one queen at a time.
Queen bees are critical to the overall health of a hive by laying future generations of bees. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
