Queen problems-weather or something deeper?

[Cazza]

I don't recall a discussion of this issue? Please direct me to it if I missed it.
When I started Beekeeping in the 90s life was easy. Queens mated well and lasted longer than today.
I have listened to Roger Patterson's talk on Queen problems and agree with him that this cannot be totally blamed on weather. Opinions please.
Cazza

 

[alldigging]

Are there any stats on numbers of imported bees and how this changes over the years?

 

[Hawklord]

Could be a combination of weather, chemicals, imports. Also something was mentioned on the forum about the practice of re queening every year. I re queen every year as I wouldn't want to risk loosing a quern through winter, it seems difficult to get enough good consequtive days when queens go on mating flights.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have blamed my abysmal queen stats this year on the weather.
All my ASs (4) failed to produce a mated queen in 3 and a produced a drone layer in 1.
Of the two small casts that appeared in my bait hive they swarmed in at the beginning of three or four beautiful calm sunny days and there were eggs in a week so I presume the queens managed to mate straightaway. Both going great guns now so I am using one as a spare over the winter and the other is being used to re-queen a failure.

Cazza, is Roger Patterson's opinion on queen failure the one that appears on the Cushman website?

 

[Cazza]

Having just read it, I would say yes.

I think a longer term perspective is helpful here because if you have only kept bees since the noughties, you would think the current state is the norm. Well, it may be now. Beekeeping is certainly more effort than it used to be.
Cazza

 

[Eyeman]

Last year 2 out of 16 colonies tried to swarm both raised new queens. Buckets full of honey. All colonies came through the winter. So based on last years experience what is the problem !
This year all 16 tried to swarm, sometime more than once, supercedure common, 1/2 the amount of honey.
My conclusion is Some years are better than others.
Alec

 

[Thymallus]

I have listened to Roger Patterson's talk on Queen problems and agree with him that this cannot be totally blamed on weather. Opinions please.
Cazza

Did you ask him if has any data (like hive records)to back up his reminisces?
He hasn't.
It's a classic case of grass was greener when I was a lad combined with selective memory.
No-one else can recall problems extending back the 15 years when RP first claims to have noticed his queens weren't getting mated properly more supercedure etc..
I've not experienced any problems in previous years, apart from this cold and wet spring. All sorted now with queens getting mated happily.
If anyone should know if there has been a problem with queens it's HM.

 

[mbc]

Queens are fine, drones are another question.

 

[Goran]

Over here, overall beekeeping quality is decreasing ( while quantity increasing with short stop cause of last catastrophic year, next will increase at large I believe due to this season). That is main reason for queen fails here. Often I can hear some beek tell - "every queen is OK", or " I just squeeze between fingers and they grow another", or " I just split, one part with queen and other they grow by themselves". And that is talk of beeks who have more than 100 colonies..
Also quality of official queen rearers is decreasing evidently..
I don't have problems with queens, nor my mentor. Some 2012. queens were awesome this year and in rearing ( at my mentor mostly).
I have some awesome 2013. queens which will go in season and rearing next year ( hopefully). Most of queens I grow by myself, few new I introduce to compare.
We didn't spot any mistery in queen fails.

 

[Norton]

Could be a combination of weather, chemicals, imports.

And how would imports affect queen mating?

 

[mbc]

And how would imports affect queen mating?

Drones taking a siesta

 

[B+.]

Queens are fine, drones are another question.

Drone rearing is far more important (and difficult) than queen rearing

 

[Norton]

Yes and good quality ones as well. Not high numbers of inferior quality. But I'm waiting to see why imports were targeted on this thread.

 

[Hivemaker.]

If anyone should know if there has been a problem with queens it's HM.

No problems here, apart from the weather at times, but that has always been the case. No problems with the longevity of queens either, providing they are well mated, many of the top performing queens are in their third season, some even do well in their fourth, but not much good beyond then.

 

[Thymallus]

Drone rearing is far more important (and difficult) than queen rearing

As I'm hoping to flood my home apiary with select drones from some pure mated queens next season any tips would be appreciated. I was simply going to buy some drone sized foundation. Naive...... I know......

 

[Thymallus]

No problems here, apart from the weather at times, but that has always been the case. No problems with the longevity of queens either,

What I thought, good to have it confirmed. Ta.

 

[For want of a better word]

Each of my selected breeder colonies of Amm has two frames of drone brood per brood box ... most are double brood.Have 10 full colonies in deep valley mating apiary.
Was humming with drones in the sun today, and have had good mating results in the last three weeks with both 6 framed nucs and in Kielers / Apidea... despite the weather and hornets!!
Some queens mated here are going strong in their fourth year.

Yes DRONES are the answer... plus flooding into an apiary vicinity mating area.

I do not know about the quality of imported bees now as compared to the green grass golden years.. as I do not need to import bees!

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

.icanhopit is going to export bees. Tamarillo Queens!

.

 

[Hawklord]

And how would imports affect queen mating?

Could it be possible that queens from a warmer climate might not mate so well in the UK or produce drones that are not prepared to go out in a cooler climate?

 

[mbc]

Yes and good quality ones as well. Not high numbers of inferior quality. But I'm waiting to see why imports were targeted on this thread.

Siesta wasn't so daft, different mating flight times for different sub species have been observed, but the obvious reason why imports are targeted is the risk of novel pathogens to Drone health, queen health and bee health in general. It is undeniable that imports pose the greatest risk to our bees of a new pathogen appearing.