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Author Topic: Too late in season to let them make a queen?  (Read 6037 times)

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Too late in season to let them make a queen?
« Reply #20 on: July 31, 2009, 05:11:54 pm »

Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Too late in season to let them make a queen?
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2009, 12:30:14 am »


Wow...I can tell that you are a cold hearted conservative!! (any room at that puke station, I'm gonna need it too!!   :-D)

I'm in michigan and thinking of splitting my hives.  Cutting it close? Maybe a bit.  Want to spend $60 on queens?  Nope.  You still have time if you don't want to drop the moolah.
Rick

Offline Pond Creek Farm

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Re: Too late in season to let them make a queen?
« Reply #22 on: August 02, 2009, 12:04:39 am »
So a question about queenlessness late in the season: Is this common?  I have had various packages go queenless, but it has been in the early season.  Are hives at risk to go queenless year round?  If so, what are the causes if we know?  If one were to get a queen this late, could heavy feeding keep them through the winter?
Brian

Offline Robo

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Re: Too late in season to let them make a queen?
« Reply #23 on: August 02, 2009, 07:18:48 am »
So a question about queenlessness late in the season: Is this common?  I have had various packages go queenless, but it has been in the early season.  Are hives at risk to go queenless year round?  If so, what are the causes if we know?  If one were to get a queen this late, could heavy feeding keep them through the winter?

Fall queen loss is not uncommon.   My personal feeling is that the real quality of a queen does not show up until fall/winter,  which by the way is the worse time to have them fail.  I also believe that a lot of winter failures that are blamed on "winter weather" are really queen failures.    I can only speak for myself,  but since I have been keeping only well feed grafted and swarm queens winter losses are less than when I tolerated emergency queens.   Ideally you want your new queen to go through 3 or so brood cycles before winter, so figure 2 months before the last fall brod rearing to introduce a new queen.
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Offline buzzbee

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Re: Too late in season to let them make a queen?
« Reply #24 on: August 02, 2009, 05:16:10 pm »
Didn't a recent article in Bee culture recommend re queening in the late summer early fall for the purpose of out breeding the mites?Maybe letting them make a queen is a push,but if you can buy a queen it may all be well.If it does requeen itself  and the population is light,be sure to shrink the colony to a size that can keep itself warm over the winter.Or do a combine with another hive.

 

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