Hi all

This clip came from a recent post of Barry Birkey, but is a clip from
somewhere else.

> > It is a long proven fact bees tend to raise queens from to(o) old a
larvae and
> > when eggs are given to large starter colonies by queen breeders the
queens
> > are larger and better performers.

The bees strategey in using the oldest possible larva is simply to reduce
the time that they are without an egg layer. They "know" that they can
supercede her with a "better quality version" later and will do so when
conditions are stable again.

Poor quality queens arise from poor quality practices. The most common of
these is the American practice of "splitting" a hive into two with one half
queenright and the other half then expected to raise a queen from what
resources they have. The queenless portion is in the first place not in the
mood or condition to do the job properly and will make every possible
shortcut to regain an egg layer.

Grafting larvae and raising queens is simple and enjoyable, the skills
needed will be acquired in your first season... The resulting queens will be
as good as any you can buy... BUT, and it is a big BUT, in subsequent
seasons you will have to appraise and select for desireable properties and
be prepared to cull any undesireable traits.

One of the biggest errors made by beginning breeders is to breed from the
colonies that gathered the "best" honey crop. I am not saying pick from
unproductive colonies, but make your selections on ease of handling,
docility, longevity, long foraging hours and other useful traits then
re-select for honey yield in subsequent generations.

Only a few generations need to go by and you will have a "local" strain that
is partly adapted. After seven or eight years a homogeonous pool will
develop with extra envigorating genes creeping in from the fringes of your
area to provide fresh blood and enable continued selection.

Regards From:- Dave Cushman, G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding, http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman
IBList Archives, http://website.lineone.net/~d.cushman