Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: Orlando on March 16, 2013, 09:13:24 am
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Hello. I keep around 5 hives. What is the most economical program/method for re-queening these hives on a yearly to bi-yearly basis? Should I even be concerned with regular requeening?
2nd yr beekeeper.
Thanks
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There will be many different answers to this one.
If you want the cheapest way to re queen it's make your own.
The bees will do it for you in the forms of swarms or supercedure if you do nothing.
If your intent is to re queen yearly or so just make nucs in the spring.
Then after they make a queen for you
It's an easy thing to then pinch the old queen and introduce the new queens.
Quick and easy.
Bailey.
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Would you then put the nuc frames back in original hive with the new queen if you did not want to make a split?
Any drawback to just allowing a superceder?
thanks
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Hello. I keep around 5 hives. What is the most economical program/method for re-queening these hives on a yearly to bi-yearly basis? Should I even be concerned with regular requeening?
2nd yr beekeeper.
Thanks
Why are you going too re-queening so often IMHO a second year queen are the bests.
http://youtu.be/qIYz65Vquxg (http://youtu.be/qIYz65Vquxg)
Look at Reply#31
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,40378.msg343942.html#msg343942 (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,40378.msg343942.html#msg343942)
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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Jim, for some reason I was under the impression you should requeen regularly. It seemed expensive to buy queens that often...I am figuring there has to be a better way, especially if its for your own apiary and not to sell queens.
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Jim, for some reason I was under the impression you should requeen regularly. It seemed expensive to buy queens that often...I am figuring there has to be a better way, especially if its for your own apiary and not to sell queens.
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Yeah, I think people who sell queens often promote that impression.... :)
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You don't ever need to requeen if you don't want...just let the bees take care of things. They usually get it right. I sell queens and only recommend requeening if there is a problem. You may wish to change the genetics of the hive or you may have a queen fail for various reasons or maybe she just slows down too much for your liking and the bees haven't decided to supercede yet. Swarm situations can leave you queenless or you might not want to wait on a brood break just before a strong flow. There can be many reasons to requeen but, in my opinion, not just because a certain time has passed.
Scott
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Scott has it right!!
Bailey
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@Jim....great links for the vids...tks
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@Jim....great links for the vids...tks
I am happy to have help you
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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Question for hard wood. How long does it take for an aging Queen to start rearing aggressive bees? I have always heard as the queen ages the bees become more aggressive, progressively. How true is this? :)d2
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I haven't experienced that doak although I also haven't ever kept records in that regard. The colony might change attitude when the queen is weak or just not performing but I haven't seen any correlation with age. Not that it doesn't happen, I just haven't taken note of it.
Scott
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Orlando,
I think what you are hearing is the best methods and practices for keeping bees in African Bee territory. That's because African bees will take over the hives.
You are way to far north to worry about them.
Jim
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Thanks hardwood, I have only one colony. They came in from the wild spring before last. As having to put my bee keeping on the back burner for a year went into them last week and they are very aggressive. Was a cool cloudy day when it was just stopping a few days rain. I closed them up and am waiting for a nice day. Here is my plan. They are 2 deep and boiling over. I added a medium super. I am going to move one of the deeps about 10 ft. and leave the bottom where it is. then in another 5 to 7 days go back and see if I can find the Queen or at least try to figure out which box she winds up in. In the mean time I am going to buy a new colony next week and try my luck at rearing a few queens. The word is going around that Queens need to be reared as locally as possible. How does my story sound to you?
The reason I don't know all the answers yet is, I was looking in my old bee logs and I have been keeping bees from year 2000. that is only 13 years and that isn't long enough. :)d2
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They came in from the wild spring before last.
The word is going around that Queens need to be reared as locally as possible. How does my story sound to you?
If you caught them from the wild and they're still going strong 2 years later, chances are they are local.
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Sounds good to me...I think everyone should learn to raise their own queens. Folks have different definitions of what is "local". Is a queen from 3 states over considered local if the weather patterns are the same? It's good to bring in queens from different breeders from time to time trying to maintain genetic diversity.
Scott
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>Question for hard wood. How long does it take for an aging Queen to start rearing aggressive bees?
Usually never.
> I have always heard as the queen ages the bees become more aggressive, progressively. How true is this?
I think it is a combination of genetics and an aging queen, perhaps, but I have a lot of four year old queens and no aggressive bees.
>Is a queen from 3 states over considered local if the weather patterns are the same?
I think you view it as two levels of "local". One is that they have as hard of winters as you, this helps winter survival. The other is that they actually have the same flows as you, and this can vary in a few miles...
> It's good to bring in queens from different breeders from time to time trying to maintain genetic diversity.
I disagree. Unless you are insistent on buying all your queens, I would try to maintain local stock and not bring in outside stock.
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I only requeen for genetic diversity or to make strong splits
that must get laying immediately. My production hives usually requeen
themselves and are going strong. I have some mating yards that I
keep high-bred queens on, but haven't been able to beat nature.
IMHO; there is altogether too much requeening going on today!
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Interesting how those in the Southern parts of the US state that re-queening is done too often and an "industry promoted idea". Of course, they are also in areas where brood production shut-down is non-existent and new queens can be had almost entirely without fear of laying worker hive or extreme cold conditions. Sure, a queen that doesn't shut down (South) is going to lay out quicker, but the queen rearing season is also much earlier for the LOCAL stock. Beekeeping is local. I can't say that if I was in an area that had harder, longer winters that I wouldn't be looking to replace a two or three year old queen going into the Fall with my locally available stock. In my opinion, this is where Michael Palmer's ideas of keeping extra nucs around makes a lot of sense. The ability to swap queens back and forth is a nice luxury to have at one's disposal when Spring finally rolls around.
Just my .02
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I agree with beek. There is an awful lot of requeening going on. Being in the northeast, I like to do splits with my strong hives in the spring, and allow the bees to make their own queens. Then I requeen only when I see the need by observing the laying pattern.
Like hardwood says, they usually get it right.
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I assisted in requeening 63 hives this weekend at the local clubs apiary. I too questioned if they really needed it or not and the reply given was that generally not but the State requires requeening every year regardless. Out of the 60 some-odd hives...maybe 35-40 appeared to have good laying queens and those needing them took home and made nucs with new queens (or old queens depending on the viewpoint). Saw some poor laying hives too and hopefully the new queens will straighten those out. I found it odd that the State REQUIRES requeening...havent looked anything up but it was told me verbally.