Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Jen on January 18, 2014, 12:25:54 pm
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Will be doing my first split this spring. Should I let the bees in the split make a queen? Or should I buy a queen and have her ready for the split?
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For a first time split, I recommend buying a queen. Then trying to let one raise it's own the next year if you have 2 or more hives over winter well.
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If the hive has to start from the egg to make a new queen there is quite a long delay till the new queen lays and has offspring old enough to contribute. That is only if she successfully mates which could be ~80 -90% successful. The hive by that time will have nearly all old foragers which are often not as easy to have accept a new queen, which you would have to do at that point. That is taking you into the time where laying workers could develop.
By giving the split an already mated queen you shorten the disruption by weeks and get around potential loss of queen on mating flight. You still have some possibility of loss during acceptance but in that case much more time to recover.
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I haven't bought a queen before. Where do I go to buy a queen?
Should I ask local beeks?
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A successful local beek with some years experience would be a good start. I am not at all familiar with your nectar flow and climate but that could influence whether you might consider and Italian type or Carniolan type. In Canada there is usually a date around the first week in June where the prices drop and availability is better.
Here an early mated local queen runs a bit higher risk of not being as thoroughly inseminated. Unless I was desperate for one I would not clamor for the earliest queen available.
You might find a local beek who is ordering queens and you could piggyback onto his order. It costs me the same shipping for one as it would for 15.
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How much do you pay for a queen?
I don't want hot bees, just a nice mellow queen is fine for me :) 8)
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30$ plus 15$ shipping and handling. You should be a bit cheaper in the US.
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How long can a queen stay in a cage until my split is ready?
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With proper care, a month or more. It is not recommended to keep them more than a week. Keep at room temp and give a drop or two of water daily. A drop of honey or sugar water if the candy gets low.
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Thanks Iddee, where do you get your queens. I don't want a hot queen, just a nice peaceful queen. European I guess?
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Larry Tate
2241 Union Cross Rd.
Winston-Salem, NC
Call 336-788-4554 or 336-972-3583
TatesApiaries@yahoo.com
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Jen should be fairly close to Old Sol and any number of folks that are rearing queen from feral stock of the Pacific Northwest. I have heard some good reports on these survivor based Pacific Northwest queens.
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You may want to check this
http://www.cvbeekeepers.org/resources/cbba
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Jen:
Whoever sold you your first hives or packages should be able to supply with a queen, or tell you someone near you that could provide you with a queen. Try to find a queen from stock in your area. In general, the sooner the queen is released the better. I pay 27 bucks for a mated, marked queen and she is delivered to my local post office over night. My queens are raised about 200 miles from my ranch.
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Thanks Marbees, awesome list! If I can't get a queen from one of three beeks here, I'll head right for this list. Printing it out :) 8)
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here is link to oldsol...
http://oldsolbees.com/
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Thanks tec!
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Jen,
Recommend you pick up Kim Flottum's latest book, "Better Beekeeping." The sections on queens are especially good.
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Gary- thanks! I'll check into that. Definately need to learn more about queens.