Ray Revis, Revis Russian Apiaries
Instrumental Insemination of Russian Honey Bee Queens
Grant Award: $6,000
Ray will be exploring a new frontier in beekeeping – artificial insemination of honeybee queens called “Instrumental Insemination” (II).
Ray has been working for over 16 years to improve the stock of his Russian honeybees and II will enable him to insure mating purity from quality bee stock. With the grant, he purchased insemination equipment, a microscope, CO2 tank and regulator and attended II training classes.
The inventor of the II equipment will be an advisor on the project and will be available for site visits to provide additional training. II queens are in high demand for breeding programs all over the USA. Quality queens will bring increased income and a much better return on labor. Protecting his valuable stock and inserting more Russian genetics into the general honey stock will result in better survivability. This will benefit all beekeeper hives.
Contact the Local Extension Agent