Hi All

Don't be too quick to replace an II queen, they contain well established 
genetics.

It might be an isolated case, but a couple of years ago, in GBBG, an II 
queen of four years of age was doing such a good job that she was 
removed from the production colony to be preserved in a nuc for further 
breeding.

Much of the myth of shortness of life was caused by poor hygiene and 
poor methods, many years ago.

II is far easier than most beekeepers think, but if you do it in a 
chicken shed with a knife and fork your results will not be as good as 
if you had polished tools and clean kit. The degree of cleanliness 
required is far higher than is needed for a human operating theatre, but 
can be achieved simply with a pressure cooker and a heated cabinet.


Regards & Best 73s, Dave Cushman, G8MZY
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman or http://www.dave-cushman.net
Short FallBack M/c, Build 6.02/3.1 (stable)

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