Alaska beekeeping is sure different that stateside.

Find for me one bee scientist or bee researcher that will agree with you, and
then
I want a scientific explanation from him.

Your statement that half the bees want to stay with the queen is a GOOD reason
not to have that queen.  Bees are NOT like we humans who endear our mother.
Bees
destroy their mother queen if she can't produce.  Further, science as shown
that
bees descending from constant superseded queens are inferior, disease prone,
and
lose all of their genetic good qualities in favor of the "wild animal"
approach.
This might have been great in the 17th century when bees were skep kept and
each year a skep was sacrificed to gain perhaps 10-15 pounds of honey.
However,
like all things change, the hobbyist beekeeper who never moves his bees can
expect
over 100 pounds of honey/colony in Maryland and 200+ in the Dakotas or
Florida.
Some migratory beekeepers who follow the nectar flow up the East Coast
starting
in Florida and ending in Maine might make over 500 pounds/colony in a season
and
requeen it with a PURCHASED queen twice it 12 months..
        Further, it has been WELL PROVEN by bee scientists that swarming
almost
never happens with a VERY YOUNG queen, because she is so capable of producing
enough queen pheromone that inhibits worker bees from building queen cells
that she can have a colony of 40,000-60,000 bees and no swarm cells.
However, when that same queen is just 12 months old, she has lost much of her
pheromone,
and swarming becomes a real problem for the beekeeper, and GOD FORBID even
talking about a 2 year old queen.
        Richard Adee is the largest beekeeper in the U. S., owning 60,000 (60
thousand)
colonies.  He REQUEENS EVERY COLONY EVERY FALL.  Is he crazy, or have good
reason?
I have talked with him, and he says a swarm totally destroys the financial
return
of a colony, so he requeens every fall to prevent swarming during a nectar
flow,
because YOUNG queens just don't swarm, assuming an intelligent beekeeper is
exercising PROPER bee MANAGEMENT.
        Keith, I am 85, a retired scientist, beginning by 72nd year of
successful beekeeping, trained by Dr. James I Hambleton, Chief U. S. government
Apiculturist
from 1922 to 1966.  In the lousy honey production state of Maryland, my
birthplace,
which only averages 29 pounds/colony/year, my 135 colonies averaged 132
pounds.
Now, disabled by strokes and can't walk, I take care of my 20 colonies from
the back
of my golf cart, and still make over 100 pounds/colony of mostly extracted
honey and still make 50-100 square sections primarily for ME and a few good
friends.
         I am BLUNT, not by nature, but found that no one ever paid any
attention to
nice sayings; but rather "woke up", paid attention, listened to you,
challenged you,
and then they were mine to TEACH and INFORM.
         Even though I strongly disagree with you, I appreciate your reply
and feelings.
                                                        Have a fine 2004!

George Imirie, Retired Scientist
Certified EAS Master Beekeeper
Beginning my 72nd year of beekeeping around the nation's capitol of
Washigton,DC

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