missouristatebeekeepers.myfreeforum.org

kellerpf · Joined: 06 May 2009 Posts: 1

I have three hives that wintered well, have lots of bees and brood:
1st hive started two years ago, lost queen last year and had a hard
time establishing new queen, first one rejected. Hive now really full of
bees and brood, comb on two supers
2nd hive: started last year, doing really well, used to donate brood to #1
last summer and #3 this sprng, comb on two suoers
3rd hive: late swarm captured in early fall, came through winter ok, now
has lots of brood and bees expanding into second deep
Have fairly good mite control, per sticky board and none visible on drone
larvae, no other sign of disease
I keep hearing I should requeen every 12-18 months. If my hives are doing well and are healthy would I be safe to raise a queen in a nuc as
a spare and let the hives requeen as they feel the need? I am a little
leary of purchasing quuens as I had a struggle last year.
_________________
peggy

euman · Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 7

I don't know about 12-18 months, but I'd replace her after two years, even if she appears to be going strong. The problem is, she'll peter out at the worst possible time, during the Spring brood buildup, and suddenly in April your bees are raising a queen instead of raising a work force for the May/June honey flow.

Summer is a great time to start a nuc. I've done this the last two years using 2-3 frames of bees and brood (all ages), feeding them and letting them raise their own queen. In both cases I've overwintered them in one deep and they've built up well in the Spring. And if you have another hive that goes queenless in the fall, you have a ready-made fix right next door.