Beekeeping > Raising Queens

Jen's Queens

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Jen:
I'm interested in learning how to produce my own queens each season.

Our spring season, is a long and treacherous one, we were still building a morning fire until the end of June. My thoughts are that I would be able to provide queens for sale more into June or even later.

Our club gets our nucs, packages, and queens towards the end of April, but they are raised and mated further down in southern Calif where the spring season is more dependable. These queens are a hybrid of Carni, Italian, and some Russian. They are very nice queens, friendly and can survive cold winters.

But some of us really love those Italians!

Two seasons ago, when the nucs and queens arrived in April... the queen bank attendee took the queen bank home and about a week later they were found dead in that bank. It was very sad and costly, but we all agreed that poo poo happens.

Mean while it's spring and people need queens! So I took it upon myself to order 20 queens from https://jackieparkburrisqueens.com/ and over the summer sold all of them. I have always loved the queens but that summer sold it for me to try and make my own queens.

I expect this thread to get packed with info for me, so go for it!  ;D

RAST:
How early do you see drones and are there any other drone sources in flying distance of your proposed mating yard. Plentiful, quality drones are a necessary component for good queens.

Jen:
Hi Rast, within a two mile radius of my home which is where my apiary is, there are 3 other backyard apiaries in which there are usually around 10 more hives. All of our hives combined will produce mutt queens. I run anywhere from 2-5 hives of my own.

iddee:
http://doorgarden.com/2011/11/07/simple-honey-bee-queen-rearing-for-beginners/

LazyBkpr:
https://www.outyard.net/queens.html

   I still cell punch, though I hope.. IF.. I ever get my new building done that I can start attempting to graft and get back into the game.

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