Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
queen is similar to the old queen (i.e. well mated and laying well). In an illuminating
experiment, two American bee scientists swapped similar queens back and forth
between colonies 292 times without loss.
In the main it is difficult to achieve this like-for-like, especially if you receive a queen
through the post. So let's take a look at some methods of queen introduction that
should increase your chances of success. Remember, though, that nothing is certain
with bees, but there are some rules of thumb that, if obeyed, can improve the odds:
The most important rule is that the receiving colony
must
be queenless. This
sounds obvious but it is often ignored by those who can't find the queen. Such
people hope for the best, leaving the queens to fight it out. You can, however, be
sure that the old, feeble, arthritic and half-blind queen will defeat the new, strong
and virile young thing you introduce. So, after you have de-queened the colony or
nuc, check that a virgin hasn't just emerged that is patiently waiting for mum to
swarm. It's surprising how often there is more than one queen in a hive. A swarm
that appeared on our land one year had one mated queen and five virgins in it. All
these were in the hive together.
The second important rule to remember is that smaller colonies or nucs accept
new queens more readily than large colonies. It is best, then, to introduce a new
queen to a small nuc made up for the purpose.
Finally, if a colony loses its queen during the late autumn or winter, it is usually best to
unite it with another colony to take it through the winter rather than introduce a new
queen.
Re-queening annually
The annual replacement of the old queen with a new young queen or queen cell is the
main reason for re-queening. Annual re-queening gives you the best chance of producing
more bees and so more honey, and it is also the best way of reducing swarming. You can
either buy a queen or queen cell from a breeder or produce one yourself (see Chapter
11). Buying a mated queen is more expensive than buying a queen cell but less risky.
The queen in the cell has to emerge, leave the hive and enter a world full of predators,
