D3310: Adaptive Bee Breeders Alliance: Building comb between the field and the lab - from Castle to Castle

The Adaptive Bee Breeders Alliance (ABBA) is a grassroots network of queen honey bee producers located across the United States focused on bringing queen honey bee producers together to develop regionally-fortified genetic pools for supporting enduring stock lines. Bee breeders from CA, OR, NM, ND, TX, FL, NY, along with bee scientists from Washington State University, Purdue, Texas A&M, Michigan State University, Penn State, University of Maryland, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Oregon State University, and the Institute of American Indian Arts have been funded a WSARE Research to Grassroots grant to co-create and conduct field-based research. ABBA aims to build comb between the field and the lab and support small to mid-scale bee breeders in their efforts for better understanding their developing Apis mellifera American ecotypes, germplasm collection for cryopreservation, Drone Congregation Area assessments (DCAs), and stock exchange between breeders to better support adaptive bees for mitigating climate change challenges. Objectives include development of a Best Bee Breeding guideline, professional development opportunities, and applied research practices for selective bee breeding approaches across the United States.