Instrumental insemination training

Instrumental insemination is a reliable method to control honey bee mating and is an essential tool for research and stock improvement.

– Susan Cobey, 2007 Ohio State University, Department of Entomology, Columbus, Ohio, USA

After training with Susan Cobey followed by years of trial and error, Penny Kerr-Hislop of Southern Sun Queen Bees now runs courses to show others the practical techniques for queen bee insemination that she has learned and improved upon.

Instrumental insemination training

Keep your bees healthy, productive and diverse.

Southern Sun Queen Bees runs training courses in the instrumental insemination of queen bees. These courses are for beekeepers who want to learn this useful skill and expand the genetics of their hives.

We offer a one day introductory course and a two day comprehensive course. Each course has a maximum of two people taking part, so you get lots of time with our trainer to learn, ask questions, and practise.

You need to be able to rear queen bees successfully to attend.

Get in touch with us to book a course.

What we cover

Introductory course

Covers the basics of sterilising and setting up equipment, extracting semen and inseminating a virgin queen. This gives you a good basis to take back to your hives.

Comprehensive course

Includes everything in the introductory course as well as practical opportunities to practise the skills. Everyone who finishes this course can successfully inseminate queen bees.

Course dates

Courses run from November to March.

Location

Courses are run at our base in beautiful Ōtaki, Kāpiti, 50 minutes north of Wellington, so you have access to all our equipment and bees.