Queen Bee: Biology, Rearing and Breeding

Dr. David Woodward was Head of the Apiculture Department at Telford Rural Polytechnic, Balclutha, New Zealand. David taught beekeeping and queen bee rearing at Telford since 1997 and manages Telford’s 350 beehives. Previously he was Senior State Apiculture Adviser with the Department of Primary Industries in South Australia (1990-97) and responsible to the state Minister of Primary Industries, for administering the Apiaries Act to the South Australia beekeeping industry (1,000 beekeepers owning about 85,000 hives). David was a research scientist at Adelaide University’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute (1988-90) and worked on importation and management of leaf-cutting bees for pollination of lucerne. David completed a Doctorate in Zoology at Massey University (1986-88) working on food demand and foraging behaviour of bumblebees. He completed a Master of Science with Honours at Canterbury University (1981-83) in insect-plant ecology looking at the interaction between the native magpie moth and weedy Senecio plant species. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Botany and Zoology at Canterbury University (1978-80). David has written many articles, course material for apiculture students at Telford, and published papers in scientific journals. This book is the culmination of the queen bee rearing course he developed in 1999.