How often people change the Queen Bee?

[john1]

Hi,
I am wondering how often people change the queen bee (every 2 year, 3 year etc.) or should we wait until queen bee gets too old?
Thanks,

 

[Erichalfbee]

Mine are replaced usually in their third year.

 

[pargyle]

I have no fixed term for them .. if they are laying well and the colony is healthy then they are allowed to continue - any signs of patchy brood or excess drone comb when they are compared with other colonies in the apiary and they are earmarked for change.

I normally see queens starting to run out of steam in year three but more often than not the bees will be building a replacement before I get to do anything.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

Very few in our operation make it into their third winter. We usually split the Colonies into polynucs around end September, beginning October, the exception being anything that has performed outstandingly the queen will be hived into a poly nuc and the main colony re-queened.
This was the advice I was given many years ago by Pete Little.

 

[Finman]

Every year

 

[enrico]

I wait for the queen bee to change me!!!

 

[Dutchman]

I replace my queens in the autumn of their second year, I used to let some go through a third winter but then they often started to run out of steam and became more inclined to swarm. Since I started replacing them at the end of their second year I have not had any swarming and plenty of honey.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Strange how things change. When I took my first beekeeping course in 2008 our tutor had a colony with a queen in her sixth year.

 

[protheroe]

I had a keld breeder queen.she was an old age pensioner at six but was superceded last autumn unless the disc has come off her back.

 

[madasafish]

Kept Q till 4.5 years: crippled and laying poorly.
Now 2 years.
Average 1 swarm a year

 

[jeff33]

I had a count at the start of this season and only 20% of my full hives have a 2 years queen. The other 80% were either superceded last season, replaced or simply vanished.
I have already had a supercedure this season and another 3 on the way. These 3 are post demaree and I wonder if the lack of brood down the bottom make them think their queen is failing.
I am starting to wonder if I ask too much of them!!

 

[john1]

Thanks very much
If I want to change the queen every year or every year, what time of the year is best to remove the old queen - September/October or March/April?
Thanks

 

[jeff33]

Thanks very much
If I want to change the queen every year or every year, what time of the year is best to remove the old queen - September/October or March/April?
Thanks

Rather than When, the question you should ask first is why do you want to change the queen every year or 2?

Assuming you are fairly new to beekeeping, I would perhaps suggest you get to know your bees a lot better, see how they perform, check health, understand cycles, etc before you decide on a set course of replacing queens yearly or bi-yearly.

 

[GlenJ]

Queen replacement is an absolute minefield on its own. There has to be very clear reason and/or calculated benefit to make it worth the manipulation/risk. As jeff33 said, there's a lot to learn before you can make those kind of decisions with confidence. As for my own bees, I'm very much a "if it aint broke, don't fix it" kind of beekeeper.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I most cases, the colony will decide when the queen needs to go and they will suprcede her at some point.