On  9 Sep 97 at 16:37, Brett D Bannon wrote:
 
>      I just received and installed a queen from a reputable breeder.
> When comparing the old queen to the new queen that I just purchased
> I noticed the old queen to be considerably longer (having a longer
> thorax).
>  Will the new queen increase in size once she is starting to lay?
>  Are
> older queens naturally larger than young queens?  If a queen breeder
> sends small queens is it reason to complain or quit using them?
 
Queen size is very dependant on the feeding supplied by the bees
while in the early stages of cell building. We have noted over the
years how the size of the queen also affects her performance and
longevity, to the point that we now have drastically reduced the
amount of cells that our bees have to raise. We have noted some
Southern breeders advertising (articles) where they add 120 cells per
breeder hive. We find that 45 produced far superior queens.
        Other points to ponder. New queens have possibly only just come into
lay. Therefore the bees have only just started feeding to bring her
into egg laying condition.
        I would watch them carefully over a period of a couple of weeks, if
her size (length) does not improve, then expect superscedure early in
the spring.
        As to what can be done. Not much, it's still very much 'buyer
beware', don't shop there again!!!
 
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The Bee Works,9 Progress Drive, Unit 2,
Orillia,Ontario. L3V 6H1.
Phone 705-326-7171
http://www.muskoka.net/~beeworks
Quality Bee Breeders.
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