queen replacement

[Kiers]

hi all looking into beekeeping since last year and if I ever pull my finger out aim to start next year.

I have emailed my local club and hoping to maybe get some hands on this year and start my own next.

the one thing I feel uneasy about is the queen replacement IF its what I think it is, which I know is silly and all part of animal husbandry but am not sure how I would deal with this aspect of the hobby or from what I am reading obsession.

so do you find its something you just do for the overall welfare of the hive and deal with it that way

 

[davnig]

it's something i'm not entirely comfortable with either and generally leave the bees police it themselves - they'll kill a dodgy Queen off with no hesitation!

If you're in it for honey then you might requeen at least every 2 years, some every year.

As I said I generally leave it to the bees but if I had aggressive bees or a drone layer (which does the colony no good) then I would probably step in and lend a hand.

 

[itma]

There are a lot of dead bees involved.

In summer, a worker might only have a life of less than a month.
Because of Autumnal losses exceeding replacement, the population of each colony is likely to fall from over 50,000 to around 10,000 for Winter.

The Queen might manage to stay alive for 5 years, but she will almost certainly be failing after 3.
Queens do have a sting - but they use it for one thing only -- killing other Queens.
Every time a Drone gets lucky and mates, he dies with a smile on his face.
Any Drones that don't "get lucky" will find their food supply gets cut off when the weather turns cold.

There are a lot of dead bees involved. But relatively few that you have to take the initiative over.


Where there is room for loyal sentiment with Q is that her genes and her mating is responsible for the characteristics of the colony. To preserve them, you need to preserve her - or rather her genes. And the best way of doing that is to breed new queens from her, and flood the area with her drones.

 

[Kiers]

Thanks for the reply's that puts some worries aside

Itma do you know anything about the Medway association I am thinking of joining them as they are my local club ?

 

[itma]

Itma do you know anything about the Medway association I am thinking of joining them as they are my local club ?

What little I hear is pretty good - I'm 40 miles away!

You can join plural associations cheaply as a friend/associate or beeless member.
Most of the cost of membership is usually BBKA affiliation ("capitation") and insurance - both of which you should pay at one (and only one) association.
Most are only too happy to have prospective members visit their meetings - and have protective clothing etc, available so you can try before you buy anything.
You can change associations.
But it makes sense to check what help they offer beginners and to compare such things as their library and the amount of kit they have available to loan to members.

Membership is usually calendar year based.
So no advantage in delaying. But I'm not saying rush!

 

[enrico]

The easy way is to pop her in a queen cage and put her in the freezer! You have to be prepared for killing a few though...when you put one box on top of another there is sometimes a sort of cracking noise, that's another couple of workers gone! It can't be helped, look on the bright side, without you intervening they would probably not even be there!
E

 

[pargyle]

The easy way is to pop her in a queen cage and put her in the freezer! You have to be prepared for killing a few though...when you put one box on top of another there is sometimes a sort of cracking noise, that's another couple of workers gone! It can't be helped, look on the bright side, without you intervening they would probably not even be there! E

There's a school of thought that says they would have done a whole lot better without us intervening !!