I want to raise new queens from my best hive by splitting. If I put drone foundation in my other best hives now, will they raise drones to mate with the virgin queens? Am I too late in the year? I live in Piedmont NC.
After some reading in different places, I plan on eventually:
* Purchasing or raising high-quality queen
* Raise extra drones in quality hives and flood my somewhat isolated suburban area with those genetics
* Cull drones (could be part of mite control plan) from weak/undesired genetics hives
Hopefully, this is reality for me next year, Lord willin.
This time of year I would think any Drones would be getting the old heavehoe before long !
Drones get the heavehoe in the fall, one of those first bee lessons.
Get a good Queen Raising book to read this winter.
Next Spring Ah !
Bee-Bop
Quote from: heaflaw on August 20, 2009, 02:27:18 PM
I want to raise new queens from my best hive by splitting. If I put drone foundation in my other best hives now, will they raise drones to mate with the virgin queens? Am I too late in the year? I live in Piedmont NC.
How do ya raise queens from splitting ?
I hear to keep your line of bees pure,you need about 10 miles of land in every direction, put your hives in the middle,remove all trees and flood your land with drones.Don't inbreed either.
You'll want them to start laying the drone eggs in the drone frame 2 weeks before you do your split.
This is so you have correct aged drones in the air when the queen in your split is ready to mate.
Then it'll take 3 more weeks for the queen to mate and begin laying.
Thats 5 weeks from now, if you started today, which does not leave enough brood cycles left to build up by winter.
I would advise waiting until spring. Concentrate now on getting good stores in your hive, healthy and strong for the winter coming up.