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.
I imagine that we all have our heroes. On the matter of producing queens, mine are Jay Smith & Brother Adam (both no longer with us) and Mike Palmer (alive and well). The teachings of these talented individuals are about what they do, or did. They are practical and honest, and generally, they subscribe to … Read more
This is what I’ve been waiting for. Those long winter nights and short days are past, new life is bursting forth everywhere I look, and proper beekeeping is back. It all happens at once; adding space, dealing with swarm cells, raising queens and soon – harvesting the spring honey. It’s a good job I have … Read more
Now that we are in that time of crazy colony growth, it won’t be long until some people start to raise their first queens of the season. My experience and research into weather patterns tells me to hold off until later because the weather can be quite unreliable for mating flights in May. The best … Read more
Virgin Queens Are Not Making It Back I’m deep into writing a book, with the deadline approaching faster than my output of words, but it seems wrong to neglect my blog for too much longer. This one is not very scientific, just some observations and musings about some changes that I have seen in the … Read more
Finding, Marking and Introducing Queens As any regular reader of my blog will know, I’m obsessed with two things; queens and Varroa mites. Queens are essential to honey bees, as mothers are to all families. Mites are horrible things that cause the death of colonies, so obviously, I need to keep their number down to safe levels. … Read more
Best Time For Queen Mating Flights The problem with beekeepers is that we are all cooped up for ages over the winter with no bees to see. It isn’t enjoyable. Then, suddenly, the weather improves, spring arrives, and we’re back in the game. The boundless optimism that comes with that first spell of warm weather … Read more
Grafting, Cell Builders And Mating I’m good at learning from the successes, mistakes and wisdom of others. Once, we had a fishing tournament at school that I’d entered. Never having fished before, I consumed a library of books on the subject and, incredibly, I won. It wasn’t difficult; I think I caught two fish and … Read more
Update, Sept 2025: I am now almost certain that small cells and small queens are nearly always less good than larger ones. Small cells on combs can be different, because emergency cells look small, but aren’t necessarily. Small cells on a grafting bar – I don’t want them. As for small queens, I now kill … Read more