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The semen collected from honey bees within the scope of the project carried out for 5 years in five provinces is kept in the Honey Bee Gene Bank of Black Sea province of Ordu’s Beekeeping Research Institute to be used in case of losses in bee breeds.
Thanks to the Honey Bee Gene Bank established within the Directorate of Ordu Beekeeping Research Institute, it is aimed to ensure the continuity of honey bee breeds.
At the end of the project, which was carried out in five provinces in the country for 5 years, semen (sperm) collected from male honey bees was frozen with a special technique and transferred to Ordu Beekeeping Research Institute Directorate. The collected semen was kept in the Honey Bee Gene Bank after going through certain stages in the institute.
Ordu Beekeeping Research Institute Director Şeref Cınbırtoğlu said that Türkiye is in an important position in the field of beekeeping and that approximately 22 percent of the world’s honey bees are found in Anatolia.
Cınbırtoğlu stated that the R&D project supported by General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), taking into account the climate changes in recent years, was carried out in Hatay, Düzce, Kırklareli, Çanakkale and Kırşehir provinces and that the semen of honey bees collected from these regions was preserved in the Honey Bee Gene Bank, the first of its kind in Türkiye.
Highlighting that the continuity of honey bee breeds will be ensured by using these semen in the coming years, Cınbırtoğlu said, ‘Our aim is to transfer the existing bee breeds to future generations by preserving them safely with artificial insemination technique.’ Saffet Sansar, a senior agricultural engineer, also said that the project was carried out to protect the gene resources of honey bee breeds and ecotypes in Türkiye.
Pointing out that the gene bank will be activated in case of losses in any bee race in the following years, Sansar added, “We will regain and protect our bee races by using these semen that we store in the Honey Bee Gene Bank when the time comes.”
