I really must put in my 5 cents worth on these Queen Rearing posts of recent
date. I have never read such a load of twaddle in my life. To say that
'rearing is more important than genetics' is a slap in the face for all good
breeders including Br Adam, who spent a lifetime doing just that. Selection
of the Queen Mother plus good rearing is the only answer. Regretfully there
will always be breeders who are solely interested in numbers and the bottom
line, but that does not include all of us!
        If one wants to breed their own queens, good, and I for one will
offer any help to anyone who wants to try. But first you must establish what
is good. If you are dissatisfied with your stock, then change it! There is
no point in breeding from poor stock. All good rearing will do, is produce
vigorous queens with good ovaries, which will lay lots of eggs, and maybe
last longer in years. It will not improve the basic imperfections of the
basic stock. This is why good breeders will spend a small fortune on
selected breeder queens.
        Someone suggested replacing workers in long time queen cages with
bees from the top of the hive. Bees in this position will be full grown and
older. It is better to replace with young bees newly emerged. If you use old
bees from a queen right hive there is a danger of them killing what they
consider to be an interloper queen. Which might be the reason why someone
reported parts missing from queens which had been banked. In that case they
should be banked on their own, not with other workers.
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   * David Eyre          9 Progress Drive, Unit 2,  *
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