If ‘bee improvement’ is something that you are striving for, and I hope it is, then the thorny issue of introducing queens will inevitably arise. By this, I mean the situation where I have removed a colony’s queen, and have replaced it with a cell, virgin, or mated queen of my choosing. This goes against … 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
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
They Are Not Necessarily Queenless When I was a beginner beekeeper, I thought I knew most things about the noble art of ‘bee bothering’, but I was wrong. In my case, the beginner years were the first five. For those with just one or two hives, it could easily be longer, and for bee farmers, … Read more
I’m going to be dipping into some research by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation in Australia in 2003. You can get the research paper here. It’s by Rhodes and Somerville and has some clues that should help with introducing queens. Some of the things they studied were: Failed introductions Many beekeepers are familiar … Read more
“Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name,” teases Mick Jagger in the epic Stones track “Sympathy for the Devil”. He sings, “Let me please introduce myself; I’m a man of wealth and taste.” Such words do not apply to me, as I sit typing this in a scruffy tee shirt with shorts, socks … Read more