successful queen mating this time of year

[denart]

I was just reading in some other posts on here about starting nucs this time of year. I don't see near as many drones in my hive as I did a few weeks  earlier. I will be doing a cut out this Saturday and hope I get the queen....but if I don't, what are the chances of a new queen frome the brood saved from the cutout being mated.  Are there always some drones flying
The more I think I know about my bees...the less I find I really don't know....but this is a great place to learn.
Thanks   Dennis

[Finsky]

You live in Texas and some live in Canada. It is big difference. You have still total summer there.

It is good time to start nuc there. It depends how much you have flowers now and how colony will raise.

[Brian D. Bray]

Any queen, whether reared from a cutout or not, should mate successfully under normal conditions.  Adverse conditions are inability to have mating flights due to adverse weather or late queens when the drone population is being reduced in surrounding hives.  Any hive raising a queen will attempt to supply a sufficient number or drones for successful mating purposes regardless the time of year (exclusive of winter).  
You have about a month and a half to set up nucs and rear queens for them as of Aug 09.

[Finsky]

You have about a month and a half to set up nucs and rear queens for them as of Aug 09.

But you save a month when you bye a laying queen. You get much more better colony for winter.

To raise one own nuc queen make no sence.

Sorry Brian. You like to raise own queens like me but if you have a couple of hives it makes no sence.

[Brian D. Bray]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, Finsky.  I find no reason to change something that works even if I only have to use it occassionally.