While I agree with Charlie that many commercial beekeepers raise their own queens and 
that more small timers should do so,  I do not believe that shipping queens is harmful. 

I think the real causes of poor quality queens are simply the methods used in mass 
producing them. Too many queens per cell builder, too few drones per queen, excessive 
inbreeding, poor mating weather, not enough pollen, too much virus, too much miticides, 
etc. 

On the other hand, if you want queens raised in good weather on natural nectar and 
pollen, that are of good stock and properly mated, you are going to have either do it 
yourself or pay a lot more than ten bucks per queen.

I have gotten queens through the mail for 35 years and they use to last at least 3 years. 
Now it is common for marked queens to go missing the first season. There are other 
causes of supercedure, however. 

If the colony is sick with virus, or mites, or if conditions are poor, they may "blame" the 
queen and replace her. Also, any time hives are trucked long distances, many queens are 
lost in the process.

pb

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