Dylan Elen: Tips for success in rearing queens

Thursday, 5 December at 7:30pm

For our next SNHBS Winter talk we are delighted to welcome back Dylan Elen. Our members should have a link to join us at 7.30pm on Thursday 5 December 2024 to hear from Dylan his tips for success in rearing queens.

Dylan helped found the black bee organisation ZwarteBij.org and worked abroad as a bee researcher before returning to his native Limburg in Belgium. He is a thoughtful beekeeper and this presentation is not to be missed by any budding queen rearers.

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Queen rearing: five stages to manage

Queen rearing can be a hugely rewarding aspect of beekeeping when successful and the most exasperating when it does not go to plan. I recommend you embark on it willing to learn incrementally from your experience and not be deterred by disappointments. Success generally follows careful application and practice of sound guidance.

There are five basic stages to plan and manage, from the laying of eggs to successfully mated queens laying eggs in their own colonies. I will explain each of these, briefly, highlighting key aspects. These stages involve the raising of queen cells from fertilised worker eggs rather than using swarm, supersedure or emergency cells already drawn by bees.

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