Part two of this interesting conversation with Keith will be on the involvement of the University of Georgia with the new vaccine for AFB.

Hi Bob, I'm so glad that this showed up in my feed. Dr. Delaplane was my first and most significant source of information on keeping honey bees when I got started. I have the DVD titled - A year in the life of an apiary. It has no date of publication on it, sometime in the '90s. It was the best out there at the time for backyard beekeeping. I'm grateful for Dr. Delaplane and all the information he's shared. I'm so glad you interviewed him. :)

If you ask me, these types of videos might be your natural evolution of your channel presentation. Just look at your comment interaction, quite impressive Mr. Rock Star

Rewatched this…again 🤔 need to dig out my “Year in the Life…”VHS tapes and book…again 🤷‍♂️

Bob this is the most interesting talk I’ve seen in a while! Easy wins with potentially big impacts.

Loved this! So very interesting and explanatory. Keith Delaplane is a great speaker and has a wealth of information. Thank you for doing this video Bob.

Probably the best information I have obtained so far on genetic variation that nature has been able to accomplish even without human intervention. Thank you both for bringing up this topic, I am surprised that nature can allow a queen bee to mate with 60 or 70 drones, being only limited by the queen's storage capacity. All this can only result in ever evolving genetic combinations to make the super hybrids if that's a true word, bringing together a mix of different traits and combinations in the same hive. Truly amazing, thank you.

Talk about knowledge and loads of information. Thank you Keith and Bob

Awesome thanks gentlemen!!

WoW, what an awesome video Bob!! I've watched many of your videos. I am just a sideliner. But, no matter how much I've learned from your videos, there is so much more to learn. Now you bring something completely new to the table..... Polyandry amazing!

Beekeepers must start taking science more seriously. This discussion is great. I never knew why inbreeding tends to produce problems.

Great video!!

Thanks for sharing interesting content Bob 👍

39:50 so simple and yet revolutionary :)

Thanks so much for doing these videos. So much to glean from the researchers who are doing work on the cutting edge of these topics. Never an end to what we have yet to learn.

Well done Bob & Keith! Many take aways to chew on after watching. Appreciate this conversation!

Thank you for producing the video, Bob. We have some of our bees in one of Brother Adams old fields, where he took queens for isolated mating, and each Queen from other beekeepers had to arrive in mating nucs with glass sides, so he could see that no other drones were being introduced to the area, or to mate with his own queens. I've been aware of diversity being a good thing, but this has now changed our own plans for this year's mating and drone production. Lots to pick out from this video, and more to delve into now, regarding Brother Adams reasoning. Thanks again,

That was a very good interview. I never received that level of information in my college genetics or entomology courses.

Really good Bob and Keith Very interesting interview l believe one of the best Thank you Bob and Keith

Thank you gentlemen for sharing this interesting topic of conversation.

Really bringing the best thought provoking videos. Enjoyed it. Thanks.

Love this. Just more on the genetics and science behind bees. I think this is more of what is needed. Great video Bob.

Wooooowwww a ton of impressive important information thanks

Fascinating conversation. I really appreciate the content on your channel, Bob.

very interesting, I never thought about it that way.

Super video so much information.ill have to watch it again to let it all sink in. thank you

What a super informative video Thanks again Bob

One of the VERY best things I've ever seen !!! Thanks Bob!!!

As always thanks for the great information. It's pretty interesting, especially in respect to drone mating numbers and coinciding with varoa resistance! Thanks Bob

Bob and Keith, thank you. Mendelian genetics well explained.

Excellent Bob. Keep them coming especially the interviews.

Wonderful help and many great videos= thanks tons for your kindness and teaching all of us, makes our efforts to save the bees easier.

What a great discussion and food for thought for those fixed on a certain way to breed a "better" bee! In a previous life I spent decades breeding marine worms and we saw similar things!

That was one amazing interview! Thank you.

Great conversation! Thanks for these videos.

Great vedio bob

Amazing, one of the most interesting talks about bees. Thanks!

Can't wait for part 2, Thanks Bob

This video answers a lot of questions which I have been wondering about for years. Thank you for the video.

Brilliant video Bob, Keith is excellent and I find the whole topic fascinating. We had him on one of our zoom meetings during Covid and was it was great.

Very intriguing interview! Thanks again Bob much appreciated!

I really enjoyed this. Thank you for putting out such great videos.

I really enjoyed this. Informative and thought provoking. Unfortunately most beekeepers never see, read or hear about research of any kind. Thanks Bob for getting this out there.

Great video! Very interesting and thank you for the discussion of the practical application. Really great advice for small queen breeders.

Fascinating Bob! Wonderful content!

Very informative. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Keith!

One of the most interesting videos I’ve watched for a long time, thank you!

Wow. What an interesting discussion. I particularly like the concept of mixing the brood to get better queen acceptance. Thank you for sharing.

Wow what a bunch of information.

Thank you Bob and Keith very interesting.

Hi Bob! I met you shortly at Hive life. Your knowledge sharing has made me such a better bee keeper. I built a hot room in my garage because I had 80 gallons of honey in my living room and one bucket was blowing up lol. You made it so clear to me how to harvest nectar faster and produce higher quality honey. Thankyou for sharing your tricks and trades

Extremely interesting stuff. The more you learn about bee's, only increases the questions and curiosity.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing! I think I’ll need to rewatch this one. I have Keith’s book on crop pollination, it was great info too.

excellent video Bob, thank you!

Really enjoy these academic discussions and practical applications; good food for thought. Thank you for sharing Bob 😊

That makes so much sense. Love it.

Great job Bob, nice chat you guys did! Take care Bob

Great video Bob! It really gets the old rusty gears in my mind turning. This subject is so much deeper than most average beekeepers will ever think about but so interesting and plays a role in how successful or just how good that beekeepers stock (bees) will be. It was good to see and talk to you at HL.

Good video Bob really enjoyed it have a great week

This is such an intriguing concept, Bob. Thank you for sharing this conversation with us. This information will help us in our queen rearing this coming season. I've shared this with our local association to help others benefit.

THIS! Great contribution to understanding the very big puzzle that is the nature. And that we must use the methods of nature itself. Interesting to increase diversity by mixing brood frames, expect that to be an established method.

Excellent talk, so glad I caught it. I am going for XL DCA'S!

Anyone interested in honeybees should watch this amazing conversation! Thanks for sharing gentlemen! The Yellow Frog Community

Marvellous!!! Not even Avatar 2 got my attention like you guys did! Thank you! 🤗

Thanks for this interview, Bob… fascinating and makes sense.

Great video Bob and certainly very informative!!! I talked with Dr. Deleplane about this very topic at last year's GBA spring conference.....very interesting stuff!

I’m speechless this is exactly what I’ve been doing in my operation, minus AI I have invested in queens of many kinds mixed into my yards something has always told me this was important in the evaluation of our bees and will be the key that unlocks the mite resistance door . I’ve found in doing this I have healthier yards and hives . I knew there was something to this !

Great Information live and learn the bees business. Thank You Bob

I like the brood mixing. More work but seems worth the effort. Look forward to the next one with the Queen Pimp.

fascinating talk. Thanks for making this video.

Nice, I just watched his video on Polyandry last week.

Excellent!

Pretty funny ending cut.

One of the best videos to date. Keith is a wealth of information! Thanks for sharing Bob. Haven't seen an email from you yet regarding the old pics. If I don't hear from you, I will call the store on my next day off.

I like it. I like it alot. Kinda blows up the queen bee industry to know that muts r best for diversity.

Great information. 😀

Great stuff! More content like this please.

I am curious how brood mixing may have negative effects and if the trade offs are worth doing it. Should we mix bees and brood? Mixing bees could create temporary disruption of caste workflow... nurses, foragers, etc. Perhaps it's easier to shake the bees and simply mix as many frames of capped brood as possible. As usual, two really smart guys talking together leads to a lot of questions 🤣 Maybe call the new queen line "Poly Queens"

04:35 The debate that popped into my mind was Genesis 11:1 "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech." God interrupted our super organism. 25:16 too much of a good thing, old but replayed out story Proverbs 25:16 "If you find honey, eat just enough- too much of it, and you will vomit." 40:27 It's easy, mix it up when breeding Honey Bees for same results

Wow...consider my mind officially blown! Bob this is a great video and I think it's your best most interesting one yet. Can't wait for part 2. You know it just goes to show you that nature always has it right. Don't get me wrong I'm all for science but I love it when it comes full circle right back to nature. Very interesting...good stuff!

Instead of trying to propogate a desirable trait through queen selection it sounds like I should be cherishing the drone layers (instead of shaking them out) for their contribution to neighborhood dca's! Also, it appears that exchanging frames of brood when equalizing colonies in the spring pays unexpected dividends in genetic diversity within colonies in addition to the boost it provides to colony population. Fabulous material Bob and Keith! Thanks so much!

Thank you , it is very interesting, the drones are very important, not only to be frozen to kill the mites.

AWESOME NEWS!! My hillbilly husbandry is the way to go! Mix em up👍thank you gentlemen for all the work you do!!!!

Hi Bob When Keith talked about brood mixing, would that be done after 9 am when the field bees have left the colony? Seams like a very interesting and simple experiment. As long as there wasn't a dearth and robbing wasn't a problem would you just put them straight in or Spritz everyone down with sugar water?

An important video Bob. I really like it when you connect science/biology/chemistry in your videos. Your knowledge is huge!! Thank you....Been a beekeeper for over 30 years and always have been focusing on strong hives and diversity. The Holy Grail ??does it exist?? That is also my concern with mite resistent bees. So it si not my focus.

A couple questions from a novice keeper. 1. Is there a way to force extra drone production from a colony? 2. Can you explain what a "Drone Congregation Area" is?

Fascinating! Do you think the use of drone comb for varroa control is having a negative impact on the number of drones available for mating?

“Randy Queens” great talk very interesting approach the chemical route is not working very interested in another possible solution.

Concerning the number of drones in the drone containment area, is the practice of using the green frame to purposely collect drones and their mites on a frame to then destroy, reducing the number of drones in the containment area, or reducing the number of drones with mites in the containment area?

Summary: His research shows that naturally mated queens lead to healthier colonies than artificial queen breeding. Polyandry results in greater genetic diversity and appears to promote adaptation to problems in the colony. However, he is skeptical whether bees will ever be able to adapt to varroa mites.

Hey Mr Bob. Keith and i were at LSU in the late 80s working on our doctorates. Wish i had just found you and interned with you for a couple years

Delaplane vhs videos “ a year in the life of an apiary “done in the 80s, got me into beekeeping

Hey Bob, did Keith use a centrifuge to mix the 30/60 sets of drone semen or just allow it to mix in the capillary tube? Very interesting conversation and great video. I greatly appreciate the time you take to produce these videos. Thank you.

Interesting back door support for the benefits of polyandry. Wondering if such cross-fostering of brood might have a benefit for say an apiary undergoing an epizootic or even perhaps commercial Beekeepers bringing their colonies to almonds where we know there will be significant pathogen exchange. 🤔😮

A practical way to double the genetic diversity would be to have 2 queen hives. Would that be as useful as mixing brood frames? It would last longer

Good stuff. What I heard is that the best way to spread beneficial traits is to increase drone production off of those prized queens more so than grafting with them. I am wondering if anyone is taking queens with undesirable characteristics and insiminating them with multiple drones with desirable characteristics.

WOW! Very interesting. I think I will try mixing up my brood frames some this year. I had the thought when Keith was talking about the various mites in China and the VD mite and how various kinds of bees have various kinds of mites...could the mites actually be part of some important aspect of the bees overall survival. I know that mites are a big problem to beekeepers, but perhaps there is more going on in the cosmos than the goals and objectives of beekeepers? Kind of like with humans, the idea of nemesis flowing from hubris and resulting in a form of humbling that may be more in the service of life than excessive pride is.

Good Morning Bob

I think you could also increase the genetic pool by routinely brining in different bee stock especially if you have small number of bee hives.

Another thought I had was related to the importance of needing more drones for mating. Could the reduction in queen longevity be traced back to the popularity of plastic worker sized foundation? Should we be encouraging beekeepers to be including one or two foundationless frames in each colony? I use foundationless, and I see 20 to 30% drone comb on most frames. I also do not see any drone comb on the bottoms of frames like I see in most videos.