Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Purchasing Queens

4K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  CChampion 
#1 ·
Hi All

As a new beekeeper, I started out with 3 hives last year and lost 1 over the winter. My other two hives seem to be doing really well but I have more drones laying. Where can I purchase queens this time of the year?

Also, what do you guys use for hive beetle control? I can already tell that they are going to be a pain this year. I've tried the beetle traps but they only catch a few here and there.

Thanks
in advance
 
#2 ·
I hope you mean drones being layed not drones laying. You'll have to hunt around for well mated queens this time of year as it is still very early in the season! Be sure you need new queens before ordering. I've never ordered this early - you might see if you can get queens from Hawaii. Myself I'd be patient. You'll be best off waiting for those drones to mature to be able to fertilize locally sourced queens.

As for SHB, they are not a problem here and I don't do anything to help or hinder them.
 
#3 ·
Hahaha... That's what happens when you get in a hurry. Yes, I meant to say drones being layed. If I wait for the drones to mature, is there a chance that the bees will swarm from not having a queen?

I've talked to a few other beekeepers here in NC and the small hive beetle seems to be one of the biggest problems so far.
 
#6 ·
Let's get a little more information... Are you seeing only drone cells and no worker brood in the colony?

Do you see fresh eggs in the hive? Are they well centered and a single egg per cell?

What I'm trying to determine is if you have a queen that is laying excessive drones, or if you have laying workers. Some beekeepers have luck requeening laying worker colonies, but I find that 9 times out of 10, the new queen is quickly killed. Requeening a hive with a drone laying queen is easier - though you do need to find the drone laying queen and dispatch her before introducing the new queen.

Colonies swarm because they have an inherent urge to reproduce and swarming is the way they do it. It is normal for a colony to have drones, and so long as the colony is not overly crowded with a strong population of both workers and drones I wouldn't take the presence of drones as a sign that the colony is about to swarm. If there were multiple swarm cells - yes I'd be worried; unfortunately once a colony has decided to swarm there is little a beekeeper can do that will keep the colony intact. If you have swarm cells read up on doing splits sometimes known as artificial swarms. Essentially you'll be attempting to keep the bees out of the trees by splitting the colony before they swarm.
 
#7 ·
Blue,
get your bees in FULL SUN,, it helps control the beetles,, and believe it or not,, Varroa is your worst enemy,, not the hive beetle,, Varroa carries over 22 viruses which can make a hive so weak they fall to the beetles,,

it was a big topic of discussion at the latest NC/SC beekeepers meeting

LOTS of queen breeders,, just google it,, and look in the beekeeping magazines
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top