Is June too late to allow bees to raise their own queen?

[Paul McCarty]

I have a hive that has been slow since I hived it last month (May 5th). I discovered the dead queen today, along with a new capped queen cell on the only frame of brood. My options at this point are to let them raise the new queen and possibly fall behind, or buy a commercial one and make the most of the little time I have.

Is early June too late to allow them to raise their own queen and still have enough build up to head into winter?

[Brent Bean]

Since the queen cell is capped she will hatch in a couple of days, it can take another week for her to take a mating flight then another twenty one days before the first workers hatch. It will take a week to obtain a queen form a supplier, four to seven days for the colony to accept and release her then same time for her brood to hatch. You will be ahead to let them raise one of their own.
Is June too late No. I make splits in June and get surplus honey by late August.

[wcubed]

With your long season, time is not a problem. If you are prepared to feed them generously with syrup all the way and protein supplement starting in Aug. you can build a boomer. Two other considerations are more important.
If the existing queen has poor genetics for your area, her characteristics will carry over to her daughter. You did say that they have not performed well to date.
Perhaps more significantly, what drones will she mate with in southern NM?

Think I'd buy a queen.
Walt

[Michael Bush]

>Is early June too late to allow them to raise their own queen and still have enough build up to head into winter?

Queenless right now at my place would not only not set them back but would get me an additional 40 pounds or so of honey as the flow is about to start and there would be more forages because there would be no brood. I have raised queens into September many years.