March or April?

biggraham610 · February 21, 2015, 12:21:57 AM

Of course the idea of being able to dump a package in late March on comb is more appealing than waiting for a mid-late April package. That being said, it has me wondering, what are the chances the queen in the early packages will be as well bred as the later. Even in the south it would seem, there would be a whole lot more drones flying a month later. If an early package decides to superscede, and the later is satisfied with a well mated queen, the time savings is a wash. I regretfully say, I know I am going to be having to get at least a couple.............order now or wait? Any advice? Thanks. G

OldMech · February 21, 2015, 02:16:36 AM

I bought ten packages to try them in Mid May.. 9 of the ten queens superseded before winter hit.. 6 of them are dead at this point, one of those being the only queen that did not supersede. I have heard that adding a frame of brood will stop them from superseding... But, only three of the queens were superseded immediately, all of the rest were superseded two to three months later, when they were laying, and had brood in all stages.. So... my advice is.. get the packages when YOU want them, get them started, and then put one of YOUR queens, or a local queen in to replace the originals. I have had excellent results by doing so.

biggraham610 · February 21, 2015, 12:12:05 PM

Thanks Old Mech. Makes sense. G

Michael Bush · February 21, 2015, 12:41:15 PM

The later you get them the better mated the queens will be, and the less likely you will get caught in a cold spell where they can't take syrup (and they have no stores). The 1st of May would be about perfect around here... but the middle of April isn't too bad.

biggraham610 · February 21, 2015, 01:18:34 PM

Quote from: Michael Bush on February 21, 2015, 12:41:15 PM
The later you get them the better mated the queens will be, and the less likely you will get caught in a cold spell where they can't take syrup (and they have no stores). The 1st of May would be about perfect around here... but the middle of April isn't too bad.

Thanks Michael, That's kind of what I was figuring on the queens. I do have stores to add, via-the deadouts they will be replacing. Plus I have some frames in the freezer capped for the early spring. G

Michael Bush · February 21, 2015, 06:19:28 PM

Well, the stores will mitigate the one issue. Then it's a crap shoot on the queens depending on the weather, but I get crappy queens in the middle of April, so I assume they will not be very good in March...

rkereid · February 21, 2015, 11:26:20 PM

Quote from: biggraham610 on February 21, 2015, 12:21:57 AM
That being said, it has me wondering, what are the chances the queen in the early packages will be as well bred as the later. Even in the south it would seem, there would be a whole lot more drones flying a month later. Thanks. G

Spring of 2013 was cold and late for much of the east coast even in GA. The package delivery dates were delayed numerous times. Beekeepers were complaining about getting their bees late. The packages that our association received that year had a terrible queen failure rate, higher than other years.

The package producers have a lot of pressure to ship out as early as possible. Do the queens have plenty of drones, and do they have time to establish their egg laying? If you lose a queen, by the time you, or the bees, replace her you will be set back.

biggraham610 · February 22, 2015, 01:23:13 AM

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Do the queens have plenty of drones, and do they have time to establish their egg laying? If you lose a queen, by the time you, or the bees, replace her you will be set back.
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That seems to be the crux of it, thus my question. Thanks for your reply. G

jayj200 · February 23, 2015, 02:16:57 PM

Are early swarms AHB's down here