I listened in last night to Dr. Nasr's most informative presentation. To be available on NY Bee Wellness you tube soon. Highly recommend it. 

In a nut shell Medhat analyzed queen sperm count in queens from various sources and found a woeful lack in imported (to Canada) queens. Queens from California and Hawaii had an average of around 1.5 million sperm in their spermathica whereas those produced by Saskatchewan participating producers had more than double that ranging from 3.5 to aver 5 million  and one case over 7.  He hypothesized that the low counts were inadequate and a likely cause of premature supersedure that we have been experiencing of late. He questioned the ability of large queen producers to provide sufficient drones. 

We have been discussing genetics and shipping but the question of drone count brings a new perspective. In my personal experience with self raised queens in very small numbers I have seen no unusual early supercedure. Food for thought.

He also addressed nosema and maybe the need to feed fumagilion to mating nucs. Something I have avoided but may rethink.

Paul     

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