How often?

ArmucheeBee · October 14, 2008, 10:35:33 PM

I searched this here but could not find anything. How often will a queen mate (fly to a Drone area)? In other words does she fly out to the area each spring or is one mating enough for 2-3 years of laying?

Nate · October 15, 2008, 06:46:51 AM

one "set" of mating.

My understanding is that the virgin queen can make multiple flights and mate multiple times to collect enough spermatozoa to last her lifetime. She only does this initially and does not repeat later on.

nate

Robo · October 15, 2008, 08:47:18 AM

Nate's got it. Once she starts laying, she will never mate again.

Greywulff · October 15, 2008, 09:04:34 AM

Nice.

So would this statement be accurate?

After she is mated and starts laying it is OK to clip her wings as clipping is only to aid in stopping her swarm.

JP · October 15, 2008, 10:37:24 AM

Quote from: Greywulff on October 15, 2008, 09:04:34 AM
Nice.

So would this statement be accurate?

After she is mated and starts laying it is OK to clip her wings as clipping is only to aid in stopping her swarm.

They may still try and swarm but clipped queens won't get very far, you may see a swarm right in front of the hive, something like that.

I've had captured swarms that were placed in a box with a caged queen try swarming to a new location, sometimes several times only to return to the caged queen.

If the colony is geared to swarm they will create swarm cells, especially reproductive swarms, and you will have perhaps several different swarms with several different queens.

Hive management is key.

...JP

ArmucheeBee · October 16, 2008, 10:14:48 AM

jp

In those cases (swarm cells), do you promote removing the cells? I know that is an area of discussion on the forum. What's your take on "management" in these cases?

Scadsobees · October 16, 2008, 10:45:57 AM

Quote from: ArmucheeBee on October 16, 2008, 10:14:48 AM
jp

In those cases (swarm cells), do you promote removing the cells? I know that is an area of discussion on the forum. What's your take on "management" in these cases?

Most people on the forum will say to NOT remove queen cells. It often happens that the swarm will be ready to leave when you find the swarm cells, and if you remove them all the swarm will STILL leave, taking the queen and leaving a queenless hive.

Better to do a split, remove some of the youngest queen cells, leaving the a couple of mature cells to hatch, then put the splits back togather a few weeks later if you don't want the extra hives.

It is a great time to harvest some extra queen cells to raise for extra queens and even make splits if you get to that point.

Rick

JP · October 16, 2008, 10:53:46 AM

Quote from: Scadsobees on October 16, 2008, 10:45:57 AM
Quote from: ArmucheeBee on October 16, 2008, 10:14:48 AM
jp

In those cases (swarm cells), do you promote removing the cells? I know that is an area of discussion on the forum. What's your take on "management" in these cases?

Most people on the forum will say to NOT remove queen cells. It often happens that the swarm will be ready to leave when you find the swarm cells, and if you remove them all the swarm will STILL leave, taking the queen and leaving a queenless hive.

Better to do a split, remove some of the youngest queen cells, leaving the a couple of mature cells to hatch, then put the splits back togather a few weeks later if you don't want the extra hives.

It is a great time to harvest some extra queen cells to raise for extra queens and even make splits if you get to that point.

Rick

Reproductive swarming is what they do starting in March here. Bout all you can do is make splits and try to fool them into thinking they've already swarmed, and put out swarm traps, at least that's my take.

The elders will chime in soon.

Oh, hive management later in the yr means giving them room to breathe so they don't get honeybound, but I believe even the guys who have been keeping bees for 50 yrs will tell you that swarming can be unpredictable.

...JP

Michael Bush · October 16, 2008, 08:22:18 PM

>I searched this here but could not find anything. How often will a queen mate (fly to a Drone area)? In other words does she fly out to the area each spring or is one mating enough for 2-3 years of laying?

The first two weeks or so of her life she is in a different state. Starting as a newly emerged virgin, she hardens for a few days. Does orientation flights for a few days. Mates for a few days and then starts to lay. As already explained, as far as anyone knows she never mates again. Jay Smith talks of a clipped queen he had that lived and layed for 7 1/2 years. Clipping them once they are mated will not hurt their fertility. It also as mentioned above, will not stop a hive from swarming.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfallacies.htm#clipping

BjornBee · October 22, 2008, 05:52:44 PM

A queen can mate on different days. But it has nothing to do with having enough sperm for the most part. It has to do with genetic diversity. A queen has enough sperm after mating with one drone for her lifetime. She continues to mate so to increase the genetic diversity so she increase her odds of not having all her off-spring susceptible to the same disease.

Cindi · October 26, 2008, 11:38:56 AM

Quote from: BjornBee on October 22, 2008, 05:52:44 PM
A queen can mate on different days. But it has nothing to do with having enough sperm for the most part. It has to do with genetic diversity. A queen has enough sperm after mating with one drone for her lifetime. She continues to mate so to increase the genetic diversity so she increase her odds of not having all her off-spring susceptible to the same disease.

Hmmm...I wonder at what point her spermatheca gets so full that it can't hold any more. Have a most wonderful and awesome day, love and groove on this life we all live, love and share. Cindi

Brian D. Bray · October 26, 2008, 08:24:35 PM

Quote from: Cindi on October 26, 2008, 11:38:56 AM
Quote from: BjornBee on October 22, 2008, 05:52:44 PM
A queen can mate on different days. But it has nothing to do with having enough sperm for the most part. It has to do with genetic diversity. A queen has enough sperm after mating with one drone for her lifetime. She continues to mate so to increase the genetic diversity so she increase her odds of not having all her off-spring susceptible to the same disease.

Hmmm...I wonder at what point her spermatheca gets so full that it can't hold any more. Have a most wonderful and awesome day, love and groove on this life we all live, love and share. Cindi

There have been some studies, I've read, that state that after multiple matings the queen will actually mix together and then the eject excess sperm.

JP · October 27, 2008, 12:13:28 AM

Quote from: Brian D. Bray on October 26, 2008, 08:24:35 PM
Quote from: Cindi on October 26, 2008, 11:38:56 AM
Quote from: BjornBee on October 22, 2008, 05:52:44 PM
A queen can mate on different days. But it has nothing to do with having enough sperm for the most part. It has to do with genetic diversity. A queen has enough sperm after mating with one drone for her lifetime. She continues to mate so to increase the genetic diversity so she increase her odds of not having all her off-spring susceptible to the same disease.

Hmmm...I wonder at what point her spermatheca gets so full that it can't hold any more. Have a most wonderful and awesome day, love and groove on this life we all live, love and share. Cindi

There have been some studies, I've read, that state that after multiple matings the queen will actually mix together and then the eject excess sperm.

So Brian, that would be a queen ejectulation??

...JP :-D