Yoon said: > But, here, Dave seems to be referring to the aggressive requeening > practice, which almost all beekeeping books baptize nowadays-- > that every fall or spring, the beekeeper must requeen no matter what I had assumed up until now that this was due to the decline in "drone quality" we have seen. (Dare I say lower sperm count?) I do not replace queens that appear to be doing well in terms of brood pattern and quantity, but I must agree that I have been forced to requeen more often in recent years, even when basing such decisions on clear and compelling metrics. Offhand, I'd guess that I have bought half again as many replacement queens in recent years versus what I bought in the early 1990s. jim (The Shopping Mall Santa: A strange man wearing a disguise who asks children to sit in his lap.) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::