In message
>Richard Blohm <[log in to unmask]> replies to;
>I can't start breeding until about the
> middle of June because there are no drones till then. I wonder if
anyone
> has any experience of keeping a colony headed by an drone laying queen
> alive over the winter?
>
>Yes you can winter over a virgin queen to produce Drones in early spring.
 
Our problem would be slightly different. It wouldn't matter if there
were drones there or not, if the weather's no good they wouldn't fly and
mate, and this won't happen 'till mid Mayish. It always seems to be a
race to get the cells into nuc's and the virgins mated by June. I can't
think of a way of overwintering the weather !
--
Dave Black
<http://www.guildford.ac.uk/beehive>,
Guildford, GU1 4RN.  UK.