The queen is the genetic foundation of every colony, and the decision about which queens to breed from is the single most powerful lever a beekeeper has for improving their bees over time. This category covers queen rearing in practical terms — cell builders, grafting, mating nucs, introduction methods — alongside the broader questions of bee genetics, selection, and what “improvement” actually means in the context of UK beekeeping conditions.
Posts here range from step-by-step accounts of what works at apiary scale to more analytical pieces on the genetics of traits like swarming tendency, temperament, and varroa resistance. The debate about local versus imported queens also features here — examined properly, with reference to what the science actually shows about local adaptation, rather than the version that circulates on forums. If you want to take control of your queen supply and understand the biology behind it, this is where to start.
The audio version of this post is on my podcast page and YouTube. An email from my local beekeeping association arrived last week. It was a good email, which should have filled me with hope and joy because it was encouraging beekeepers to enrol in a queen rearing class. Isn’t that one of the best … Read more
After a stuttering start, our queen production is now in full swing, so I thought I’d share how we do it. This probably won’t suit everybody, but it works for us. A big part of queen production is being organised, getting the timings right, and having a process that is familiar and effective. Another important … Read more
For much of my beekeeping life, I have been fascinated by the trickier aspects of our noble craft. One of these is queen introduction, although my focus has generally been on mated queens. However, there are queen producers selling virgin queens, and even queen cells, so this research paper (details below) caught my eye. The … Read more
We have arrived at the point in the beekeeping season when some re-queening of hives takes place. Given that it is very early for current-season UK raised queens to be available (I have a few), the queen to be introduced will likely be an over-wintered one, born last season, or a queen imported from somewhere … Read more
The temperatures here have been about normal, I reckon, but the rainfall seems worse than usual. Nevertheless, there will be strong colonies somewhere in my apiaries which will be getting into ‘swarming mode’ in the upcoming weeks. From a honey production as well as a ‘good neighbour’ perspective, swarming is something to be avoided. So … Read more
I have written a fair few articles about raising queens, and, as time passes, my experience grows (or maybe my memory fades?). The only beekeeping I have been doing is feeding fondant to most of my nuclei, and a couple of hives that were a little light. So, here’s another queen rearing article that tries … Read more
A review of Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives that recently appeared in BeeCraft magazine got me thinking. It was generally a positive review, but towards the end there was some criticism for missing something out. In fact, it stated: “I believe the absence of a balanced argument on the subject of queen imports is a significant … Read more
The ability of honey bees to grow their colonies from little nucs to enormous hives with bursting supers is extraordinary. Some colonies that came out of winter looking small are now booming. Others dwindled and were shaken out, just to prove that nothing is always great. I still marvel at the growth rate of colonies … Read more