David Eyre makes the point:
> ... nobody has mentioned what they plan to do about mating all these
> queens they're going to raise... just 20 Queens per week (not a lot)
> requires on average 300+ drones every week!
 
This is a good reason for northern beekeepers to purchase their queens
for splits and waiting for better weather to grow their own.  Expectations
for good "Yankee" queens much before June 1 is folly.  Dave's correct,
you can't push them drones.
 
One of the strongest points made at Sue Cobey's "Queen Rearing" class
is, "Don't overlook your drones!"  Everyone picks their "best" hive
(most productive, least fierce, best survivor, prettiest color(?), best
house keeper, whatever) to provide the egg(s) or larvae - genetic
material - from which to raise their queens.  But that's only half the
picture.  The other half is the drones!  And with open mated queens,
this half of the picture can easily be very out of focus.
 
First off, will the drones even be from your hives?  If so, will they be
from the same hive you picked to provide the larvae?  Hopefully not!
Inbreeding is to be avoided.  Will they come from a neighboring hive?
Hopefully, preferably one of the neighboring hives that also has
desirable characteristics but which is not closely related to the larva
donor.  Perhaps the drones will come from a neighbor's hives?  Drone
congregation areas are nature's way to stack the deck in genetic
variation's favor, however in open mated queens you never really know.
Unless you're in a very isolated area it's likely that the drones did
NOT come from your hives!
 
This is why if you're seriously going to get into raising your own
queens you want to do it on a scale at least large enough to be able to
cull the crap.  It's not a trivial exercise!  It's more than getting
something to successfully crawl out of a queen cell, fly off innocent,
come back knocked up and start raising more bees!  It's successfully
managing your bees so they will raise good, well nourished virgins to
fly off on nuptials with many well mannered, gentlemanly drones to
return to a blissful nucleus where she will begin to lay eggs in
wonderful pattern producing well tempered and highly productive progeny.
And if you've made your best effort to do everything right and she turns
out to be a real bitch, then off with her head!  Nasty bees?  Cull her.
Poor pattern?  Cull her.  Low production?  Cull her.  Bad results for
any reason?  Cull her.  Got many queens left when you're done?
Hopefully, but you can get the idea that SERIOUS queen rearing DOES
approach rocket science.
 
Ok, perhaps I exaggerate a bit (and apologies if I've offended by my
choice of words).  But raising GOOD queens is more complicated than it
looks.  Yes, one can have "acceptable" results letting nature take her
own course - she's been doing it for millennia without beekeeper
intervention.  But the goal of a serious queen breeder isn't achieved in
a fortnight or by accident, it's a long term and concerted effort.  One
can easily raise a yard of bees in a haphazard, takes your chances
manner.  However, odds are it won't be a pleasant yard in which to work.
Raising what can be considered a "quality" stock can take a lifetime!
 
This is not to say that you shouldn't try, but unless one intends to
approach the task in a serious, WELL INFORMED and dedicated manner,
better results will be had by purchasing queens from beekeepers who
have the time, dedication and skill to develop and maintain quality
stock.
 
Aaron Morris - thinking good queens don't just happen!