This has probably been hashed out many times in the past, but due to new pests and chemicals used today, what is the best practice? I have several older beekeepers saying to replace every year just before the honey flow to prevent swarming. On the other hand, I hear younger beekeepers saying let nature take her course. The difference between my comment between older and younger beekeepers is not age, but years of keeping bees. I keep a little over 30 hives and I'm in my 4th year as a beekeeper. Does replacing a queen prevent swarming? Will using Apiguard in the fall cause problems with the older queen the next spring? It is getting to about time I get an order ready if I am going to replace queens next spring. It is getting expensive replacing queens, specially if I don't need to each year. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm