# Re Queening - Spring or Fall



## Rob Mountain (Dec 8, 2003)

I am beginning to think that fall Re Queen is the best way to go for colder winter regions. Of course spring new queens for splits but generally August/ September to replace older queens. 

Does anyone else share this idea?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have always shared that idea. Of course when you NEED a queen is one thing, but requeening is cheaper and just as effective and maybe more effective in the fall. Why go through the disruption of requeening in the middle of spring buildup?


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

That is what I started doing last year. Now I only have to decide wether to make walk away splits, or buy queens for my splits. I have two weeks to decide.


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## Rob Mountain (Dec 8, 2003)

Speaking to Nancy Ostiguy this afternoon, her suggestion is that the colder winter regions look at requeening late June. The main reason being to requeen with queens raised in our own regions. There are many other good reasons too.

I cant help thinking of the Nike slogan Just do it Raising queens isnt rocket science. This is where Bee Clubs members should work together to raise queens for club members. Somebody mention that a Beekeeper who had 10 000 hive raises queens. All good and well but what about you with only 10 hives? Raise your own and then give the rest away. 


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If a job is worth doing - Then do it well


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## rainesridgefarm (Sep 4, 2001)

How long can you bank a queen or several queens? I am getting 50 this month but only need 35 right away. then the rest a week later.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>How long can you bank a queen or several queens? I am getting 50 this month but only need 35 right away. then the rest a week later.

I haven't done this enough to speak entirely from experience, but I set up a nuc with a 3/4" thick shim and put the queen cages on that facing down so the bees would care for them and I had them there for about three weeks and they did fine.

I had read that you can't requeen a queen bank like this after they've had all those queens, so I just shook it out in front of the hives and put the frames in another hive when I was done. I don't know if you have to or not, but it was what people who have done it recommended.

I'm considering using frames like a picture box with an excluder on the face of it it splitting a frame into four sections and put a queen in each so she can be laying while in the bank. I built the frames, but haven't actually tried them yet.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi

>I am beginning to think that fall Re Queen is the best way to go for colder winter regions....

This has proven to be the case in Wyoming. The season is short. Early spring/summer weather is marginal. Major flows occur in the latter half of July.

Fall requeening allows queens to be raised during the better weather later in the season. Drones are more abundant then, and mating success increases.

No critical break in brood rearing occurs to the foraging populations that are being raised in June to work the major flows in July.

Fall requeening produces a break in brood rearing that mimics the natural slow down begining in July. The young queen has a chance to mature during that time without affecting colony strength or morale.

A fall queen will continue laying longer than an older queen at the end of the season. This results in lots of younger bees overwintering.

A swarm board is a handy way to raise a few queens above a colony. It's very easy to graft into a plastic cup using a Chinese grafting tool. A cheap headband magnifier, less than $10, can be useful. Press a couple of these cups on a brood frame in the small division above the swarm board. A month later you should have a mated queen.

There's enough time for a couple of batchs up North if the process is started toward the end of June.

Regards
topbarguy


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>think that fall Re Queen

One concideration when fall requeening with a mated queen. 
You have to find the queen and at a time when there are thousand of bees usually under multiple boxes, which are usually full of honey. So this leaves you to requeen after the boxes are off, later in the season. I dont think I like the idea of a brood break late in the season.
You have fewer bees, boxes to work with in the spring. And if done with a good brood base, your honey crop is not compermised

Ian


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## Curry (Sep 22, 2003)

<I dont think I like the idea of a brood break late in the season.

One potential benefit of a brood break in the fall is to break the varroa buildup. It's mid-to-late fall when varroa really explode in population... and if the hive survives, the varroa die out during the winter brood break, only the start the cycle over again. I think a brood break is an over-looked IPM management tool. Just provide 1:1 sugar syrup to get brood rearing going again after re-queening (keep feeding and they'll keep making bees). My strongest hives this year were hives that I fed sugar syrup all through the fall... they had lots of new bees to go through the winter with.


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