requeening in august

[beeno]

Can I ask whether this is just personal experience or do you have some sort of collated results?
It’s just that I do my final checks around the end of September. I have found new queens in the spring quite frequently and according to my records I haven’t had a poorly mated one yet in 12 years.
Your observations seem to fly in the face of evidence from others.

My own experience and others in my locale. I do my checks end September too, and I have never found any new queens in spring. Could be what more experienced beeks say, once you see your marked queen you do not look for another one. So, it is really a missed supersedure that is not noticeable until spring, when the old girl is dead and gone, but to infer from that that she mated in late Aug into September may be to mislead beeks that it is the norm.

 

[Ian123]

Sorry but matings in August and September are very much normal in my area and for many others inc a bee farmer about as fas SE as you can get, for many years I’ve done a large percentage of my queen rearing in those months. The weather is often more consistent than early season and with luck most neighbouring beeks are in the middle of treatments. Give it a go I am sure you’ll be surprised. Ian

 

[Erichalfbee]

My own experience and others in my locale. I do my checks end September too, and I have never found any new queens in spring.

That’s interesting
It illustrates your point, however there seem to be other parts of the U.K. where late matings are perfectly possible.

Suck it and see is probably the best advice, then.

 

[beeno]

That’s interesting
It illustrates your point, however there seem to be other parts of the U.K. where late matings are perfectly possible.

Suck it and see is probably the best advice, then.

The OP heading is "Requeening in Aug" and then talks about supersedure in Aug two different issues. Yes, a lot of requeening goes on in Aug., but with already mated and laying queens. Yes, by all means beeks can "suck it and see", but the back-up plan is then a late unite. One good reason for having a couple of nucs to overwinter. I have so far not had a drone layer come spring either which must be disruptive to spring build-up.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

A lot of requeening goes on within the hives in late August. That is a well known fact, no amount of peddling alternative 'facts' and the twisting of truth can change that.
This is the beginners section, it should be a place where they get told what actually happens.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The OP heading is "Requeening in Aug" and then talks about supersedure in Aug two different issues. Yes, a lot of requeening goes on in Aug., but with already mated and laying queens. Yes, by all means beeks can "suck it and see", but the back-up plan is then a late unite. One good reason for having a couple of nucs to overwinter. I have so far not had a drone layer come spring either which must be disruptive to spring build-up.

No beeno.
The op means is August too late for a queen to get mated?
Ian’s first reply is spot on.
The “suck it and see” alluded to whether to take your advice that late August supersedure is problematic due to lack of drones which in most places is clearly not the case or Ian’s advice that it’s a good time or whether to ignore both and Just try.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It all comes down to observation
If your hives have drones then so will your neighbours.
So if weather is set fair the chances are excellent, bee birds of prey notwithstanding