Unmarked queen. Photo courtesy of The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), Crown Copyright and supplied by the National Bee Unit at Fera. 18
Oct
Small Scale Queen Rearing: Part 2
It pays to prepare for queen rearing early in the season. You need to ensure that your selected main nursing colony, and, if you wish to have a go at drone rearing, your drone rearing colony plus any supporting colonies, are strong, healthy and well nourished (see Table opposite for a suggested schedule). These colonies should also, preferably, be free from chemical varroa treatments because these are detrimental to the fitness of your queens, drones and their sperm.
