This is my first year beekeeping and I have read where you should replace your queen each year. When is the best time to do this. Do I need to do this since this is the first year for my queen?
Yearly requeening isn't necessary. Whether or not to requeen this year has to do with where you got your bees in my opinion. If she came with a package or NUC from somewhere with a really different climate then I would say requeening with one from a local breeder who uses survivor stock would be worthwhile. Whether it's too late or not depends on when brood rearing stops in your area. A good rule of thumb might be to allow enough time for at least three brood cycles to complete so that the bulk of the winter bees will be from the new queen. Just my thoughts.
FH
it's a waste of money to do it every year. every other year if that is what you decide, or do it when you feel the queen is not doing her job anymore. or, do it the lazy way and let them requeen themselves :-)
i requeen with stuff that i get from cutouts or swarms that i know come from feral hives. before you decide to go about requeening willy-nilly, make a plan for your yard. are you after survivor stock that will reduce your need to treat? are you after massive amounts of honey? will you buy packages, do splits, collect swarms, or do you even want to expand?
I only replace queens when they are failing and usually the bees have beat me to it.
The life span of my queens in a honey production colony is usually 14 to 16 months and then the bees start to supersede her. If you see evidence that her egg laying is failing replace her then, otherwise wait until July or August so that you go into the winter with a young queen. Having a young queen in late summer helps with your adult bee populations when you go into winter.