I think one distinction must be made here that is perhaps leading to a
misconception on some parts. One of the deciding factors here is drone
availability. In an established large and/or commercial yard there will probably
be enough drones and established drone collection areas. A hobbyist or sideliner
may not have the ability to establish a yard to favor  a successful mating area.
Besides weather and birds then a smaller yard may not successfully produce good
queens. Several years ago this may not have been a problem as unmanaged colonies
existed in the trees so supply a shortfall of successful drones. ( I think
unmanaged is a better term than wild. I know I haven't been able to train my bees
to sit-up and beg.) Unmanaged drones  already had established drone collection
areas for the virgins to fly to.
    Larger, permanent or yards where the trees have been restocked, will favor a
successful mating over the alternative.
    So both sides are right and we are simply debating the finer points.
    If you have a strong colony with the necessary eggs/larva, nutrition, good
weather, and plenty of drones, there should be no reason why you can't get a good
queen.
    If it doesn't work the first time, do it again or, find an alternative.

Thom Bradley
Chesapeake, VA

Allen Dick wrote:

> > > Two different scenarios, producing, in one case acceptable queens but the
> > > other only producing a temporay solution.
>
> Baloney.
>
> Emergency queens raised by a good beekeeper from good stock are perfectly
> good queens and *can* last as long, and do as well, as as any other queen.
>  I defy anyone to prove otherwise with scientific literature.
>
> That is not to say all -- or even most -- emergency queens are excellent,
> but then how good are the cells and queens that we buy from the breeders?
> I  can assure you that you can and do often get less than ideal queens
> from breeders.
>
> Anyhow, there are three ways that bees raise queens in nature, and they
> all work and have worked for eons.  *All* can fail under some conditions,
> even in nature.
>
> What method of the three we choose is up to us -- and our circumstances.
> If we understand it and understand the demands and limitations of the
> mechanism we choose, we will succeeed most of the time.
>
> What more can we ask?
>
> allen
>
> http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/