The recent discussions on requeening naturally lead onto the problem of
finding the (old) queen.  Small scale beekeepers often don't mark their
queens.  There are a number of reasons, replacement is only one, why one
would wish to find the queen and marking makes it so much easier.
 
The easiest time to do it is before introduction but if you have a
naturally raised queen you have to find her first, so choose a time when
the colony is small and as many bees as possible are out foraging.
However, it should be warm because the hive is likely to be open for
some time.  The first really warm spring day is a good choice.
Although the queen spends most of the time laying up empty cells, I
find that once I start looking for her, she runs away.  So, if I start
at one end of the brood chamber and work across, I usually find her on
or near the last frame.  There is a knack to spotting a queen.  Her slow
steady walk and the behaviour of the retinue of workers surounding her
are the best clues.
 
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Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 4104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK    E-mail :  [log in to unmask]
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