Difference between phenotype, environmental influence and heritable characteristics.
Practical Beekeeper Standard · Competency C7
Selective breeding, queen rearing and queen introduction
Assess colonies for useful and undesirable characteristics, identify suitable breeding candidates, perform appropriate queen-rearing techniques, produce spare mated queens and introduce queens successfully.
Knowledge
Knowledge requirements
Useful selection traits such as health, temperament, productivity, overwintering, swarming tendency and colony viability.
Limitations of drawing breeding conclusions from small numbers or short observation periods.
Queen and drone development, mating biology and timing.
Principles of cell production, queenless/queenright cell building and mating-unit management.
Common queen-rearing methods and their advantages and limitations at small scale.
Risks in queen introduction and factors affecting acceptance.
Importance of pedigree/performance records and honest recording of failures.
Skills
Practical skills
Maintain records that allow colonies to be compared for selection purposes.
Identify and justify suitable and unsuitable breeding candidates.
Carry out at least one appropriate practical queen-rearing method.
Manage developing queen cells and mating units appropriately.
Assess mating success and early laying performance.
Maintain spare mated queens or replacement queens appropriately.
Introduce a queen using an appropriate method and verify acceptance and subsequent performance.
What assessors need to see
Genuine queen-rearing activity is expected, including production/management of queen cells and at least one mating or queen-introduction outcome. Unsuccessful attempts may still provide valid evidence where competently analysed.
Based on genuine activity
Knowledge may be evidenced through short written explanations, annotated photographs, small videos, records or professional discussion, but it should relate to an actual activity, colony, apiary, manipulation, observation or management decision the candidate has carried out or genuinely been involved in.
Evidence accumulates over time
One activity may map to several KSBs. Practical competence must be evidenced practically; scenarios support rare or uncontrollable situations but do not replace practical evidence where a genuine opportunity can reasonably occur.
