requeening in the fall?

RangerBrad · March 04, 2011, 01:20:37 PM

I have a hive that will have their 2nd year queen this year(if they don't swarm) and was wondering if early fall(late sept or early october) would be a good time to requeen them? My thoughts would be that the next spring they would be going into it with a young queen and have also read that a first year queen may reduce the swarm chances and by I was thinking that fall requeening would not interupt the spring laying cycle thus effect honey harvest. What say yal? Brad

AR Beekeeper · March 04, 2011, 02:33:57 PM

I would start my new queen in a 5 frame nuc the latter part of June. Do your varroa treatments on the colony with the old queen, if needed, in late July or August. Remove the old queen to a nuc after the varroa treatments and requeen the original colony with the nuc that has the new queen. When you are sure the new queen has been accepted you can dispose of the old queen and join the nuc with the original colony, or you can try overwintering the nuc.

Requeening the usual way by introducing the new queen to a full colony in the shipping cage in September or October is taking a chance of losing a colony in the winter due to the queen's failure to be accepted or the new queen being superseded too late for a new supersedure queen to mate.

Robo · March 04, 2011, 02:43:34 PM

You can also use a double screen board as a "fool-proof" way to introduce a new queen.

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/queen-introduction/

hankdog1 · March 04, 2011, 02:55:28 PM

You may not have to is there anyway to tell if the bees have already done it for you? ex. marked or clipped wings

RangerBrad · March 04, 2011, 10:13:45 PM

That brings up a good question. How do hives with a clipped queen swarm? Brad

backyard warrior · March 04, 2011, 10:21:37 PM

Usually they will push the queen out the entrance and she will be crawling on the ground and the bees will either stay with her or return to the hive or she will die. I really dont like the idea of clipping wings personally unless you have a inseminated queen being used just for daughter queens.

organicfarmer · March 04, 2011, 10:25:01 PM

Quote from: RangerBrad on March 04, 2011, 10:13:45 PM
That brings up a good question. How do hives with a clipped queen swarm? Brad

They wait for new queen to emerge, keeping the old one to kill her, and will swarm with virgin queen.

backyard warrior · March 04, 2011, 10:28:35 PM

Thats true they will swarm with virgin queen as well but i know a buddy who had the queen crawling outside the hive on the ground too already

brooksbeefarm · March 05, 2011, 01:15:34 AM

I requeen anytime in Sept.(with my own raised queens) if the queen is running out (spotty brood pattern), but i'm not one of those that requeen every year. I have some queens that have gone three years without problems. Jack

Countryboy · March 05, 2011, 01:26:57 AM

An easy way to requeen in late summer is to put a cell in the top honey super.

RangerBrad · March 05, 2011, 09:58:07 AM

so if you have a clipped queen the virgin queen leaves with a swarm the clipped queen is killed and then you agin have to wait until they make another virgin queen and she is bred before you can start having young agin. WOW, sounds like it really put's them behind in production. Brad

backyard warrior · March 05, 2011, 08:08:11 PM

So what will happen when you have a hive with a clipped queen when they are ready to swarm and the clipped queen cant does the virgin queen leave and the clipped queen stays ??? I know one thing Brad If the virgin swarms and the clipped queen is gone the hive will die because the workers cannot make another queen without eggs that are less then 3 days old. Hopefully we can get some info from the guys who been doing this for a long time.

RangerBrad · March 06, 2011, 12:41:01 PM

last year was my second year for both hives and they both had clipped and marked queens. One swarmed in April but the hive continued on and appears to be doing very well this year. My only guess is that the clipped queen stayed was not killed and the virgin left with the swarm. Brad

brooksbeefarm · March 06, 2011, 01:56:47 PM

Rangerbrad, did you check the hive for the queen, maybe the virgen queen stayed and the old queen died or was killed. Either way you still have a queen, i don't buy a clipped or marked queen anymore fore that reason, and i have had them superseded soon after putting them i the hive because the workers i think, see something different about them. :? Jack

RangerBrad · March 06, 2011, 02:30:01 PM

Brooksbeefarm,
Thank's for your thought. My question is if that is the case that the virgin queen stayed and the old queen was killed or died then who left with the swarm? Brad

brooksbeefarm · March 06, 2011, 07:15:23 PM

Are you sure they swarmed?

RangerBrad · March 07, 2011, 08:36:18 PM

Absolutly positive.
I had just got home from work and had done chores and was walking towards the hives to check on them when the swarm left out from a cedar they had been in. I heard them wind up and watched them take off to parts unknown. Brad

Tommyt · March 07, 2011, 08:43:14 PM

Quote. I heard them wind up and watched them take off to parts unknown. Brad

I would have wound up and pursued

Tommyt

RangerBrad · March 10, 2011, 04:47:17 PM

Last I seen of them, they were headed up the valley and went out of site. No way I could of found them and I only had 2 hives and they were both occupied at the time. Brad

brooksbeefarm · March 10, 2011, 05:46:39 PM

Rangerbrad, i would set up a swarm trap during swarm season. Might not catch your own,but who knows, besides they work twenty four seven. That is if you want more hives. :? Jack