Well Stan,
 
I do rear my own queens hear in Ohio.  All I need to rear queens by the end
of April (which is when I start) or any time is nice large colonies with
lots and lots of DRONES.  The dandelion flow starts around mid April, that
gives them the stimulation they need to kick it in to high gear.  Using the
two-queen system helps in getting those nice large colonies early spring
and so dose over wintering them in 3 deep hive bodies.  Most of my
two-queening gets done around the second week of May but I start as early
as possible.
 
My inseminated queens are started with splits in mid June and allowed to
build up.  Some time they need honey supers after they pass the 3 deeps for
winter.  They are over wintered with what they make, and are never
two-queened.  I use the honey producing two-queen hive as drone sources.
 
Garrett
 
*****************
Garrett Dodds
Custom Inseminations
29480 January Rd.
West Mansfield, OH  43358
(937) 355-0290
e-mail  [log in to unmask]
 
Stan wrote:
 
>Hi Garrett, Ted and All:
>
>Since both of you are fairly northern beekeepers (Ohio, Michigan) I am
>curious about how you manage to get young queens that you can use for
>splitting your colonies around the first of May.  I don't think I could
>possibly rear queens here in PEI in April and I would have just assumed that
>you were buying your queens except for Garrett's final remark about using
>artificial insemination to rear stock that might be adapted to this system.
>
>I know our spring is delayed here compared with the midwest, but I am still
>curious as to what techniques you can use to raise queens that early.
>
>I just got a price list from F.W.Jones for queens and packages from New
>Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii (the only places we can import from because
>we are varroa and tracheal mite free).  Queens were $20 to $25 and it was
>$180 for a 2 kilogram packages of bees with two queens.  Sheesh.  The queens
>especially have gone up.
>
>Regards, Stan
 
***********************
* Garrett Dodds                         *
* 29480 January Road              *
* West Mansfield, OH  43358  *
* (937) 355-0290                 *
* e-mail  [log in to unmask]    *
*--------------------------*
* Custom Inseminations          *
********************