Here's a question for the commercial beekeepers (and the
researchers and hobbyists might like to take a stab at it too):
 
We have about 1500 hives out there with two brood chambers and
an excluder on them.  Presently they are up to 10 boxes (standard)
high from the ground.
 
Since the season is winding down and we might have a killer frost
as early as next week, we are now reducing them to four or five
boxes high in total, removing the honey, and leaving them with a
couple of supers to hold the bees so they don't dwindle and so
that we will not lose the crop that might just as easily still
come in..
 
We have some nice queens ready to requeen many of the ones that
have not been made up this year with new queens.  We've decided
that our wintering losses are usually due to queen failure, and we
have also decided that we want prolific young queens in charge so
that the bees will stay ahead of any mites and so that we will
have large populations to split next spring.
 
The question is; What is the least labour intensive and most
reliable way of requeening these hives?
 
We want to do about 700 in the next few weeks without having to
go through brood chambers and looking for queens (which are not
marked).
 
Ideas?
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                        VE6CFK
Rural Route One   Swalwell   Alberta   Canada  T0M 1Y0
Email:   [log in to unmask]    or   [log in to unmask]
Futures, Art & Honey:http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka