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Why do comercial queen breeders stop raising queens in the summer when its hot, and start back up in the fall. Is it because they cant ship queens in the heat? If I want ot raise some backyard queens in the summer, is there any reason why I shouldnt, and wait till fall to do it? Thanks Steve
I personally wouldnt raise queens or split hives after july...
but... Thats just me... I imagin you can so you have some on hand if needed.
just so the splits have enough time to build up for winter.
Because, no flow = no cells.
If you're going to raise queen cells after the flow gets shut off by hot weather, remember to feed syrup constantly while the bees are growing the cells.
Heat, dearh,robbing, hive beatles, varroa, predators - all hit their peak while drone populations dive.
Do drone populations pick back up in the fall?
I sell a lot of my queens in late summer/early Fall. I requeen all of my own hives in the Fall, as do most of our club members and the people who have purchased nucs and starter hives from me.
I do feed syrup, but we also have a pretty good minor flow right up until Fall.
I don't do splits this late in the year- we have a short season and they just don't have time to build up.
ETA- but I am not a commercial queen breeder, either, even though I do sell queens. Mine is a relatively small-scale operation.
Thanks Claire, does anyone know what the drone populations are like in the fall?