Elements and Performance Criteria
- Establish conditions and obtain requirements for queen bee rearing
- Breeding stock is selected from productive healthy stock according to established breeding program criteria.
- All tools, equipment and other requirements needed to rear queen bees are obtained and confirmed as being in good repair and serviceable for use.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is checked for serviceability and worn and used correctly.
- Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) hazards associated with rearing queen bees are identified and action is taken to minimise them.
- Any site quarantine or other biosecurity protocols in force are observed.
- All hives and colonies used for queen bee and drone production are confirmed as being in clean and healthy condition.
- Day-old larvae from the breeder queen bee are selected for grafting and transferred from worker cells into queen cell cups.
- Adequate numbers of nurse bees are confirmed as being present in cell raising colonies.
- Grafted cells are placed into cell starting colonies and then into cell finishing colonies.
- Establish and monitor the queen mating process
- Ripe queen cells are transferred into the nucleus 10-11 days after grafting.
- Adequate numbers of mature, well nourished and genetically suitable drones are provided during mating period.
- Details of grafting and subsequent placement of cells into nucleus colonies are recorded according to enterprise standards.
- Age of the queen removed from mating colony is recorded.