Insemination Technique Insemination Equipment Training Video

Long considered an impossible goal to attain, the development of instrumental insemination ended many years of frustration. This was preceded by over a century of searching for a method to control matings in confinement. Anything from a small glass dish to the largest greenhouse in America were tried without success. Seemingly comical attempts were made, such as trying to fertilize the queen pupae by painting them with semen. It was the persistence and discoveries of several dedicated researchers that paved the way to the techniques we currently use.

In 1927 Dr. Lloyd Watson demonstrated that instrumental insemination, as he coined it, was possible. He used a hand blown glass micro-syringe and inseminated queens fastened with a silk thread on to a wooden operating table which was attached to the microscope stage. No anesthetic was used during this procedure. Later, Watson modified a mechanical pencil and used this as a syringe. By the late 1930's Dr. Otto Mackensen had combined the various contributions of several researchers in development of a practical instrument. The Mackensen instrument is the prototype from which most modern instruments are modeled.

The early use of this technique was frustrating. During its development, it was though that the queen mates with a single drone. It wasn't until the 1940's that multiple mating was discovered. This led to the use of semen from several drones and repeated inseminations. Carbon dioxide replaced the use of ether to anesthetize the queen and solved the problem of delayed egg laying. Another major discovery made by Dr. Harry Laidlaw contributed to the success of the insemination technique. He described the valve fold, which blocks passage of semen into the oviducts of the queen.

Today, the use of instrumental insemination is practical and highly successful. Our increasing knowledge of bee genetics, mating designs and practical field selection methods combined with the improvements in equipment design and technique offers an exciting future in honey bee stock improvement. Instrumental insemination is an essential skill. The ability to control your breeding stock will open new opportunities to develop and maintain selected lines.

To help beekeepers learn this skill intensive training courses are available. For more information see insemination classes and our instrumental insemination training video .