in particular cases there may be huge differences, and they are
> well known in commercial circles.  Right Bob?

Exactly right!

 In commercial beekeeping one needs to choose his queens wisely. All have 
their good and bad points.
Some queen producers put out very poor quality queens on a regular basis. 
Price has little to do with the queens you get as to quality.

Also as Allen pointed out you might go several years with queens from a 
queen producer and then get a batch which will not winter or produce honey.

I never put all my eggs in one basket by using a single queen source.

I looked at the largest test group of queens sold in the U.S. I have ever 
seen in one place last January in Florida. A forty acre field was lined with 
fifty five gallon barrels on which each had a hive . Each group of hives had 
hives headed with queens from a particular queen producer.  One group stood 
out from the others. So queens were ordered the next year from the queen 
producer. We were not disappointed but as Allen said we could have received 
a bad batch.

The first queens out the gate are always suspect. The next batch are usually 
better mated.

The queen is the most important insect in the hive and good queens do not 
cost but pay dividends. Actually with the costs of maintaining a hive 
throughout the year ( meds, feed & labor) queens are one of  the lowest 
costs.

However unlike the Adee's and the Brown's which requeen all hives every year 
I still keep queens two years and (like Brother Adam) believe queens produce 
better in the second year (but are swarmy so precautions need taken over 
first year queens). Giving the second year queen room to lay ( not 
foundation but drawn comb ) is essential. Make use if a surprise flow starts 
supers are in place so the bees do not plug the brood area with nectar as a 
second year queen will hit the trees in a heartbeat if happens.

For me I have a hard time putting a hive tool to a queen in her second 
season but many commercial beeks do not. I mark & use marked queens these 
days so I have an idea of age or if the queen has been superceded. Unless 
part of a test I do cull third year production queens. My experience has 
been problems with yards with third year queens but others may have 
different experience. I recall Murray saying he has had luck with older 
queens.

bob 

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