On Wed, 3 Jan 1996, Mark D. Egloff wrote:
 
<snip>
>      Therefore, requeening would be desirable to
>      maintain the "purity" of the stock.
>
>      On the other hand, allowing the bees to "grow their own" and
>      repopulating dead hives from splits including eggs or swarms, would
>      allow ones colonies to adapt to particular local circumstances, which
>      might enhance survival.
>
>      Hmmmm.....interesting choice.
 
Hi Mark,
 
A couple more thoughts.
 
Purity is one thing and in-breeding is quite another -- don't
get the wrong one. When I buy in queens I try to buy from
genetically fairly distant lines but maintaining the general
strain, so I would try to keep pure ligusticas together etc.,
I don't buy from the same supplier/line each year. If you are at
all isolated or the major drone source in your area, in-breeding
is all too easy because of the parthenogenetic drones (heck;
unfertilsed egg, no father!).
 
I think most beekeepers requeen, but not necessarily with
bought-in queens. Left entirely to there own devices bees will
swarm sooner or later, leaving their own new queen.  Part of our
job is to minimise that as it costs us honey, and maybe time &
goodwill, depending where the swarm goes :-). Requeening with
young queens is a powerful method for reducing that tendedency.
 
Other important reasons to requeen are as a defence against
diseases and bad temper.
 
IMHO, the real choice is what percentage of queens you buy in
compared to the percentage you home-rear, even if this is just
by swarm-control splits and by culling bad queens.
 
Best regards,
--
Gordon Scott   [log in to unmask]   Hampshire, England.
               [log in to unmask]
               Beekeeper; Kendo 3rd Dan; Sometime sailor.
The Basingstoke Beekeeper (newsletter) [log in to unmask]