Teaching the University of Montana’s Queen Breeding Course

Professor Scott Debnam and I had the opportunity to teach the University of Montana’s Small-Scale Queen Breeding Course this summer. The goal of the course is to give beekeepers the knowledge and skills to produce high-quality queens on a small scale — queens that are healthy, well-nourished, and capable of building strong colonies.

Tamila, Mary, and Dr. Debnam in the UMT Apiary.

Over several days, we worked with students in the classroom and in the apiary. Together, we covered the core elements of queen rearing: breeder queen selection, setting up strong cell builders, grafting, and managing mating nucs. Every step was taught with a focus on quality rather than volume.

One of the main points we stressed was what “high quality” really looks like. For example, some of our heaviest research queens have weighed as much as 267 mg at emergence — a benchmark that reflects excellent nutrition and strong rearing conditions. That’s the kind of standard we want students to understand and strive for when they go back to their own operations.

Nutrition was a central theme. We showed how feeding practices directly affect queen development, including a demonstration on making higher-protein pollen patties for cell builders — an approach that goes beyond what most commercial patties provide. These details are often overlooked, yet they make the difference between an average queen and an exceptional one.

What makes this course valuable is its balance. Professor Debnam brings a research perspective shaped by years of teaching, published work, and managing apiaries, while I contribute field-tested methods developed through running queen breeding operations. Together, we provide students with both the science and the practical application behind raising queens.

The class size is intentionally small, which allows every student to practice grafting, handle bees, and ask detailed questions. Participants ranged from newer beekeepers to Master Beekeepers, but all left with tools to improve the quality of queens in their own apiaries.

For us, the course is about more than technique. It’s about showing that small-scale, high-quality queen breeding is possible and sustainable — and that it strengthens not only individual operations but also the beekeeping community as a whole. We look forward to continuing to support our vision of regional, small-scale, high-quality queen breeders across the country.

If you’d like to learn more or explore future offerings, visit the University of Montana’s Beekeeping Courses. https://www.umt.edu/bee