Hygienic Behaviour Assessment Service
Data-driven Insight Into Your Colonies’ Natural Disease Resistance
The Tech Transfer Program (TTP) is pleased to introduce a new Hygienic Behaviour Assessment Service for Alberta’s commercial beekeepers. This service supports producers interested in evaluating their colonies’ natural ability to detect and remove diseased or pest-affected brood—a key trait linked to improved colony health, reduced disease pressure, and more resilient operations.
Using the Freeze Kill Brood (FKB) assay, this service provides practical, field-based data to support breeding decisions, queen selection, and season-long colony management.
The service design is based on the Breeder Colony Hygienic Behaviour Assessment used by the KRTP program in Manitoba, along with established research and extension methods used across North America.
This service will initially be offered in the Edmonton and Calgary regions. If enough demand for this service in the North and South, the service may be made available to beekeepers in these regions. Please complete the sign up form below to submit your interest and the TTP will be in contact to confirm.
SIGN UP HERE!
SERVICE IS AVAILABLE LATE MAY/EARLY JUNE 2026
Why assess hygienic behaviour?
Hygienic behaviour plays an important role in resistance to brood diseases and pests, including Varroa mites. Understanding which colonies express strong hygienic behaviour can help beekeepers:
- Identify colonies with stronger natural disease and pest resistance
- Support domestic breeding programs and stock improvement
- Inform queen replacement decisions throughout the season
- Reduce long-term treatment and management costs
- Build healthier, more resilient operations
What’s included in the service
- Freeze Kill Brood (FKB) hygienic behaviour testing
- On-site Varroa level assessment for each tested colony
- Colony identification and tracking
- A field report summarizing results and observations
- Optional grooming behaviour assessment (no additional cost)
How the process works
On-site colony selection
TTP staff will arrive on site and work with the beekeeper to confirm which colonies are selected for assessment. Each colony must be queen-right and meet the eligibility requirements. Once confirmed:
- Colonies are labelled with individual ID numbers for tracking
One suitable frame with capped brood is selected per colony
If a colony lacks sufficient capped brood, a replacement colony will be chosen
Freeze Kill Brood (FKB) assay
- The selected brood frame is labelled and marked
- Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze two 100-cell sections of capped brood
- After thawing, the frame is returned to its original colony
- The time of reinsertion is recorded to begin the assay
Varroa assessment
- From a separate frame with uncapped brood, a ½ cup bee sample is collected
- Bees are placed into ethanol vials for Varroa analysis
24-hour follow-up (beekeeper role)
- 24 hours after freezing, the beekeeper returns to the colonies
- Photos of the freeze-killed brood sections are taken
- Images are emailed to the TTP team for scoring
Reporting
Once all data are collected:
- TTP calculates hygienic behaviour scores
- Varroa levels are analyzed
- A detailed field report is emailed to the beekeeper
If any concerns are observed during the visit (e.g., visible disease issues), the beekeeper will be notified.
Timing and availability
- Assessment window: MAY/EARLY JUNE 2026.
- Timing aligns with adequate brood availability and seasonal management decisions
- Colonies must meet eligibility requirements at the time of testing
Requirements for participation
To ensure accurate and meaningful results, the following requirements apply:
Queen age requirement
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- Colonies must have had the current queen for a minimum of 7 weeks
- This ensures the worker bees performing hygienic behaviour are daughters of the same queen
- Recently requeened colonies will not accurately reflect the queen’s hygienic score
24-hour photo submission
- Beekeepers must agree to submit images of the freeze-killed brood frames 24 hours after freezing
- Without this step, the assessment cannot be completed and a final report cannot be produced
OPTIONAL ADD-ON: Grooming Behaviour Assessment (No additional cost)
Beekeepers may opt into grooming behaviour testing, which evaluates another form of Varroa resistance. Please
How it works:
- Sticky boards are inserted 3 days prior to the scheduled TTP visit (Beekeeper to supply and install their own sticky boards)
- After hygienic behaviour sampling, TTP staff remove the boards
- Boards are analyzed in the lab to determine the proportion of mite damage caused by bee grooming
- This information is included in the final report and complements hygienic behaviour results.
NOTE: Grooming behaviour assessment is only possible if mites are present in the colony at the time of testing.
Supporting resources
For more background on hygienic behaviour testing and methodology, producers are encouraged to review the reference materials linked below:
Interested in participating or learning more?
Contact the Tech Transfer Program to discuss eligibility, scheduling, and how this new service can support your operation.
