Adding a new queen bee to your hive can be a tricky process, with several factors to consider.
In my opinion, the rule of sevens is the best approach:
- Keep the hive queenless for 7 days.
- Then, add the new queen.
- Do not open the hive for another 7 days.
- After that, you can start feeding the hive.
This method helps ensure a smoother transition for the new queen.
Why swap the queen bee?
Swapping a queen is necessary if the colony is aggressive or if some parameters are off, and you want to keep your colonies in check. A good beekeeper’s job is to keep the bees safe while also promoting good genetics.
With many beekeepers around the world, not all are knowledgeable, leading to the evolution of bees and a decline in wild bee populations and bees in general. Why is this happening? In my opinion, many beekeepers do not keep track of the selection of the bees they are maintaining.
So, how can you do this? Purchase genetically selected bees. What does that mean? It means you know the lineage of both the mother and the father.
Here’s a helpful website for more information: https://www2.hu-berlin.de/beebreed/ZWS. On this site, you can find valuable insights about bees and which ones to choose.
Once you have all the necessary information and purchased bees, why would you consider swapping the queen? Bees will often replace a queen if they do not like her, resulting in a new queen (her daughter) with an unknown father.
Why can this be problematic? It’s not necessarily a bad thing; your new queen might be better than the old one—producing more honey, being well-organized, showing less aggression, and maintaining a low varroa count. However, it’s also possible to end up with a poor-quality queen that is lazy, disorganized, produces no brood, or is aggressive.
It’s a gamble.
Keep a queen only if she is performing well; otherwise, it is better to swap her out for a more promising option.