OTS QUEEN REARING: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR BEEKEEPERS WORLDWIDE by Mel Disselkoen
Compiled, edited, and illustrated by Lynn Quinn
About the cover: A honeybee colony brood frame
pollen band capped honey
capped larvae
eggs
emerged larvae
younger larvae
older larvae Notched, younger larvae
2
36-hour-or-younger larvae
Notching
OTS queen cells
OTS queen
Honey frame
Brood frame
OTS queen cell close-up
Breaking honey cappings to feed
OTS QUEEN REARING: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR BEEKEEPERS WORLDWIDE
by Mel Disselkoen Compiled, edited, and illustrated by Lynn Quinn
Michigan, U.S.A.
Copyright © 2014 by International Mating Nuc, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2014
ISBN 978-0-615-95917-7 International Mating Nuc, Inc.
Wyoming, MI 49509
3
CONTENTS
Dedication . . . . 7 Message To Reader . . . . 8 Preface . . . . 9 The Early Years . . . . 11 G. M. Doolittle . . . . 11 Dr. C. C. Miller . . . . 16 MDA Splitter . . . . 17 Non-Grafting Methods . . . . 19 Swarming, Supersedure, and Emergency Impulse . . . . 23 OTS Queen Rearing . . . . 25 OTS Queen Rearing by Doolittle’s Queen-Right Plan . . . . 32 OTS Queens . . . . 35 OTS Larvae and Notching . . . . 37 OTS Queen Cells . . . . 39 OTS Queen Brood Patterns . . . . 40 OTS Bee Yards . . . . 41
Queen Supersedure . . . . 45 Honeybee Heredity and Genetics . . . . 49 Varroa Mites . . . . 55 Honeybee Gestation and Reproduction . . . . 57 Honeybee Math . . . . 63 Drawing Out New Comb . . . . 65 Overwintering . . . . 67 Sugar Bricks . . . . 71 Insecticide Plausibility . . . . 77 Conclusion . . . . 82 Mel Disselkoen . . . . 84 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . 86 Glossary . . . . 90 Illustrations . . . . 91 Bibliography . . . . 92 I. M. N. System of Queen Rearing . . . . 93
Pictured above: Wild blackberries pollinated by honeybees
