Successful Indoor Mass Storage of Honeybee Queens (Apis mellifera) during Winter

The production of young, mated honeybee queens (Apis mellifera) is essential to replace dead or start new colonies after wintering. Mass storage during winter and their use the following spring an interesting strategy that could help fulfill this need. In study, we investigated survival, fertility, fecundity stored massively in queenless from September April (eight months). were kept environmentally controlled rooms at temperatures above below cluster formation. results show indoor mass can be achieved with success when queen banks are temperature. Significantly higher survival was measured wintering 16 °C. Surviving wintered different formation had similar fertility (sperm viability) (egg laying viable worker population). This study shows potential overwintering banks. technique describe applied on a commercial scale by beekeepers breeders.