Training the Breeders: Building a Network of Mite-Resistant Queen Breeding Cooperatives

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Practices

Training the Breeders: Building a Network of Mite-Resistant Queen Breeding Cooperatives

Honey bee losses and continued beekeeper reliance on chemical pest controls with declining efficacy threaten pollination services and the long-term viability of apiaries across the North Central Region. Commercial and sideline beekeepers face chronic risks because they depend heavily on queens shipped from outside the region that are often not adapted to northern climates. While many beekeepers want to transition to locally adapted, disease-resistant stock, they often lack the breeding skills, controlled mating capacity, testing systems, and regional support structure needed to do so successfully. Furthermore, there is a lack of standardized breeding methods across the region, meaning breeders struggle to coordinate efforts, build upon existing work, or directly measure trait progress.

This project proposes a regional train-the-trainer model built on the framework and early success of Michigan's Northern Queen Initiative (NQI). It will work with participating breeding groups throughout North Central states to establish breeder core groups, deliver structured online and hands-on instruction, support shared field protocols and breeder records, and expand the availability of controlled mating through three regional instrumental insemination hubs. Because isolated mating areas are limited or inaccessible for many breeders in the region, instrumental insemination is a necessary tool for maintaining genetic lines, making controlled crosses, and supporting coordinated stock improvement. Specialized hands-on breeder training will be provided through an existing location in Wheatfield, Indiana and a newly equipped training facility in Bloomfield, Missouri.

The educational program will include queen biology, queen rearing, breeding program design, drone management, mating control, field resistance testing, and breeder recordkeeping. The project also builds on existing Sustainable Beekeeping Guild of Michigan (SBGMI) and NQI digital coursework in queen rearing and the simplified Harbo assay and will expand through partnership with Texas A&M's Master Beekeeping Program. Finally, the project will strengthen the NQI as a source of vetted genetics by supporting breeder-colony maintenance, protocol-based testing, and advancement of qualifying breeder queens for regional use.

Expected outcomes include stronger bee breeder competency, broader availability of controlled mating support, increased use of shared testing and recordkeeping methods, and improved regional availability of locally adapted, mite-resistant stock. Ultimately, this project will benefit farmers and ranchers throughout the North Central Region by strengthening regional queen supply, supporting more sustainable stock development, and expanding practical alternatives to dependence on imported queens and chemical-centered management.

Project objectives

1. Establish breeding core groups among participating groups throughout North Central states.
2. Train nominated breeders in queen breeding, standardized field resistance testing, recordkeeping, and controlled mating methods.
3. Support three regional instrumental insemination hubs and strengthen advanced in-person training availability through an existing Indiana training location and a newly equipped Missouri training facility.
4. Strengthen the Michigan Northern Queen Initiative network as a source of vetted genetics by supporting breeder-colony maintenance, protocol-based testing, and breeder-candidate advancement for regional use.
5. Implement shared protocols, data templates, and decision-support tools across participating sites so breeders can make comparable stock-selection decisions.

Learning outcomes
By the end of the project, participating breeders will be able to:

1. Explain core principles of queen breeding, including queen biology, drone management, mating control, and breeding program design.
2. Explain why open mating limits preservation of selected lines and why instrumental insemination is useful where isolated mating areas are limited.
3. Conduct and interpret standardized field resistance testing, including monthly mite washes, spring and fall pin-killed brood assays, and advancement of top-performing colonies to simplified Harbo assay where warranted.
4. Maintain breeding and testing records using shared templates and apply those records to breeder-selection decisions.
5. Describe how locally adapted, resistance-oriented stock development can reduce dependence on imported queens and treatment-centered management.
6. Demonstrate increased readiness to apply project methods in their own apiaries and support other beekeepers locally.

Action outcomes
During the project period, participating breeders will:

1. Establish and manage test colonies for resistance-based breeder evaluation.
2. Use shared testing protocols and record systems to document colony performance and identify breeder candidates.
3. Apply test results to breeder selection and stock propagation decisions.
4. Participate in controlled mating through direct use of instrumental insemination or through the availability of project-supported hubs and training locations.
5. In the Michigan NQI network, complete advanced protocol-based breeder-colony maintenance and, where qualifying candidates are produced, advance those colonies into breeder production through instrumentally inseminated or open-mated breeder queens for regional use, supported by separate breeder-candidate advancement payments.
6. In non-Michigan groups, complete routine testing work on project colony blocks, maintain usable records, and build local breeder capacity through staged adoption of project methods, with candidate advancement developing within their own systems over time.
7. Qualified participants who complete competency verification will begin functioning as regional trainers and technical resources through project-supported hubs, training locations, workshops, field days, and short courses.

Measurable indicators of learning and action

1. Number of breeding core groups formed.
2. Number of bee breeders nominated, trained, and retained.
3. Number of bee breeders completing online instruction and hands-on intensives.
4. Number of bee breeders demonstrating competency in queen rearing, field testing, recordkeeping, and insemination-related skills.
5. Number of participants completing trainer verification and approved to function as local or regional trainers.
6. Number of participating groups using shared protocols and submitting standardized records.
7. Number of test colonies evaluated using project methods.
8. Number of breeder queen candidates advanced through controlled mating or open-mated breeder production, including instrumentally inseminated breeder queens produced for regional use.
9. Number of trained participants who report changed breeder practices, increased queen production, improved queen quality, or greater use of genetics-based management.
10. Number of outreach events led by qualified participants after training.
11. Improvement in phenotypic performance of breeder queens and increased use of shared selection criteria across participating operations.

System-wide outcomes to which these learning and action outcomes will contribute

1. Increased regional capacity to produce locally adapted, mite-resistant queens.
2. Increased availability of controlled mating support through three regional instrumental insemination hubs and two advanced training locations.
3. Greater use of shared testing, recordkeeping, and breeder-queen-selection standards across participating bee breeder networks.
4. Stronger availability of vetted breeder queen genetics through support of the Michigan NQI network.
5. Reduced structural dependence on imported queens by increasing local and regional availability of selected stock.

What success would look like in three to five years

1. Participating groups maintain functioning breeding core groups.
2. A meaningful subset of trainees continue as independent bee breeders, hub users, or local trainers.
3. The three regional instrumental insemination hubs remain active for line maintenance, controlled crosses, and bee breeder support.
4. Indiana and Missouri continue expanding regional availability of advanced bee breeder instruction.
5. Shared testing and recordkeeping protocols continue beyond the original project cohort and allow beekeepers to directly compare lines available from multiple breeders.
6. More beekeepers in the region can identify local sources of selected stock rather than relying exclusively on imported queens.
7. The region has a larger pool of breeder-quality queens and drones selected under North Central conditions and supported by more consistent breeder decision-making.
8. Continued improvement in phenotypic performance of breeder queens across participating operations and more consistent breeder decision-making using shared methods.