> Seeley (1978) reported that 79% of queens survived for one year in
unmanaged colonies, 26% for 2 years, and no queen survived 3 years.
Kleinschmidt in Australia reported that a queen is generally good for two
major colony buildups in her lifetime. For example, the first major
buildup in spring, then a second buildup in founding a new colony after
swarming. She would then be superseded, being replaced by a daughter queen
which would then repeat the process.
As far as I can tell, this is the "natural" progression of queen longevity.
I wouldn't expect managed queens to be more long lived.
--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com
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