Dec. 15, 2008 ~ Classes and Registration Information
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| Susan Cobey and queen bees for her classes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley) |
DAVIS—It’s not just taking stock.
It’s improving stock.
Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, is offering three specialized classes next spring on queen bee rearing and instrumental insemination. Registration is now under way.
The workshops, to take place in the Laidlaw facility on Bee Biology Road, are “The Art of Queen Rearing,” March 17-18, with an optional tour of queen bee breeders on March 19; “Instrumental Insemination and Honey Bee Breeding Workshop” on April 14-16; and “Advanced Workshop Instrumental Insemination of Honey Bee Queens,” set April 22-23.
“Major advances in agriculture are due to stock improvement, and this also applies to honey bees,” said Cobey, internationally known for her queen bee rearing and instrumental insemination expertise. “With the increasing challenges of beekeeping today, the selection of honey bee stocks that are productive, gentle and show some resistance to pests and diseases is critical to the future health of the beekeeping industry, agriculture and our food supply.”
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| Queen bee insemination. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
Cobey, who has taught the specialized classes since the early 1980s, draws hundreds of researchers and beekeepers from throughout the world, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rico, England, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Venezuela.
By invitation, she’s also taught several classes in the host countries of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica Egypt, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and South Africa.
Cobey, trained by honey bee geneticist and apiculturist Harry H. Laidlaw Jr., established the New World Carniolan bees more than three decades ago and has managed a closed population breeding program since then Her bees are known for their high productivity, rapid spring buildup, overwintering ability, resistance to diseases and gentle temperament.
See Classes and Registration Information
