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Date: | Mon, 26 Jan 1998 08:22:44 -0600 |
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My 11 1/2 year old son and I have just overwintered our 1st hive of bees that
we keep in our backyard in an urban setting. We started with a nuc last April
and had a great year. We extracted 5 shallow supers of honey. The colony
appears to have overwintered well as I have seen lots of bees leaving the hive
to forage and they are bringing back pollen. So the queen must be laying
brood. I have not opened the hive yet to inspect it, but will in a couple of
weeks when the weather warms up some more.
My main concern is: How important is it that I requeen this colony? Since we
beekeep in an urban area, would requeening cut down on the possibility of
swarming? Mark and I do plan to split this hive and we will get a new queen
for that. A lot of the local beekeepers that we know are not, at this time,
doing annual requeening and let their hives raise their own queens. I am
reluctant to to this as it is of paramount importance to me that our bees
remain gentle. I don't want any complaints from the neighbors.
I am also rather apprehensive about how to find the queen. Any helpful hints
would be greatly appreciated.
Florence and Mark Cooper
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
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