Michael Palmer wrote: >> otto wrote: Re-queening with a "store >> bought" queen would prevent me from developing a local genetic >> strand... >> Accordingly, would it be better to kill the queen >> every fall and let the hive make a new one? > > How about killing the old queen, and leaving a nice ripe cell? > Mike How about pulling the old queen (if she's had good traits like survival without treatment) into a nuc? Her genetics are still good. If there are swarm cells I make splits with those into nucs for later re-queening of the big hives. I have enough drones, and am fairly isolated so my resistant stock drones dominate the matings. I keep the old queen nucs through winter (I am in upstate SC and most survive) and keep them crowded so they make swarm cells for splits. I clip my queens and the hives are near the house so I can often recover the old queen, plus the confusion when she doesn't fly helps me spot the swarming activity. If a virgin goes, at least I know when to find ripe swarm cells. The Russian mix virgins tend to be fairly tolerant of each other, so tho some have hatched there are often good cells remaining (and possible secondary + swarms). If you read George Imrie's Pink Pages you will find the excellent advice that the best way to prevent swarming is be sure the queen has lots of open drawn comb available that is not blocked by supers full of honey. Thus when I crowd her, even in a nuc, I will get my well-made queen cells. I do bring in outside queens every year, but only from various sources of disease/mite resistant stock. I think diversity is extremely important in developing resistant bees at the hobbyist/sideline/non-scientific level (like me, with 25-50 hives) In-breeding, or focusing on minimal loci for desirable traits, is only for those with more resources, instrumental insemination, objective testing, large drone populations, multiple lines to hybridize, etc. JMHO, tho something I'm doing is working with no hard chemicals in 8 years, not even formic for 4. Of course I may just be breeding weaker mites and diseases....who knows? Carolyn in SC, Lakelands Beekeepers Association :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::