That is the question.  Tis' nobler...etc., etc....
 
I've been catching queens, marking them AND clipping
wings for a few years now.  Just wondering if clipping
wings is really an advantageous practice or not.  I
know my *old* queens don't leave with the swarms.  They
jus' kinda fly in circles.    ;^)
 
With marked queens, I never use a clipped wing as
identification. I know some people believe that it
somehow damages the queen and the other bees sense
this.  But have any studies of this ever really been
accomplished?  Is the supersedeure rate greater among
queens that have had their wings clipped?
 
Also, from you BRITISH types out there:  Can you tell
me what the 'normal procedure' of Buckfast Abbey is?
Do they normally clip wings or not?  Does Brother Adam
have an opinion on rather one should or should not clip
wings?
 
BusyKnight
Dallas, TX
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