Queens in biodinamics

[dro]

In biodynamic beekeeping is recommended to use queens from swarm queens(swarming queens cells.).It's true?

 

[drstitson]

yes.

although presumably one only propagates swarms which emerge at right phase of moon?

 

[RoofTops]

Try Phil Chandler at biobees but my guess would be yes as it is all about natural beekeeping so artifically raising queens would not be allowed. But Phil C is probably your man to ask.

 

[Finman]

.
Swarms are the biggest enemy of beekeeping. Beekeepers make hard work to stop swarming. It is dynamic or almost dynamite.

 

[Scutellator]

There is a theory, according which the bees rear many queen cells during swarming but only few of them are allowed to hatch; the bees "choose" the best (according to their standards) queens of the batch, instead of applying the rule "every queen will do the job", because the survival of the collony depends on it.

 

[Poly Hive]

Would it not be better to choose queen cells from a Supercedeure strain?

PH

 

[Finman]

There is a theory, according which the bees rear many queen cells during swarming but only few of them are allowed to hatch; the bees "choose" the best (according to their standards) queens of the batch, instead of applying the rule "every queen will do the job", because the survival of the collony depends on it.

real rubbish. Bees not choose the best. when swarm has gone, about 5-10 queens fight to each other. The rest queen cells are destroyed.

When swarm is near to go, there are many queens ready to come out. They have only tiny hole in the cap.

One theory was long time ago that the best drone gets the queen.

 

[DanBee]

although presumably one only propagates swarms which emerge at right phase of moon?

Got to be at full moon - otherwise they wouldn't see where they were going, would they?

 

[oliver90owner]

We would not finish up with scrubby queens for emergency queens, if this were the case?

Sounds like someone needs to 'get real'.

RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

biodynamics are a bit "mystical" and so have to be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt.

PH