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British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Bad weather and mating

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #10821  by thewoodgatherer
 10 May 2021, 08:03
What are your thoughts on virgin queens chances of mating at the moment.
Down in West Berks we have hardly had a day above 13 or 14 in weeks and we are not forecasted above 15-16 for another two weeks. I was hoping to make some substantial increases but weather has been a nightmare, it was 5C at 4pm the other day :shock:
 #10822  by AdamD
 10 May 2021, 09:01
In the past, I have had virgin queens that have hung around for too long due to the weather being too cool and they had to be discarded and replaced. One year I had 10 virgins waiting for good weather and then suddenly we had just one day of 21 degrees and a few days later they had all started laying.
My colonies have hardly started to produce drones so far this year, so it's too early for me to start queen-rearing although I usually have some mated by mid May.
 #10825  by NigelP
 10 May 2021, 09:12
North Yorkshire must be racing ahead /wry grin/
Drones in most hives and I've set up a few walk away nucs with some queens hopefully due for mating this week in the balmy 14/15C we are forecast.
That is not to say they will be successful, just hopeful.
If they fail will just keep setting up more.
I want nucs earlier rather than later so wasps don't become a problem as they can for weak late nucs later in the season.
 #10826  by thewoodgatherer
 10 May 2021, 09:45
Most local Beeks like me had drone brood first of April this year and swarms end of but weather has gone backwards and I can’t see many new queens getting mated successful yet.
 #10859  by Sipa
 12 May 2021, 14:41
We are just outside Newbury, you are spot on with the weather, terrible. Cold, wet and windy with the odd reasonable day or part thereof !

We had several hundred virgins in mating nucs the last two weeks and are having to write them off and start again.
Not a good position to be in.

Never mind, it can only get better.
 #10862  by Patrick
 12 May 2021, 17:19
Interesting to hear Sipa, I have not even started queen rearing yet because I haven't considered it worthwhile. This time last year I had new queens coming into lay by now. No shortage of drones..
 #10867  by Liam
 13 May 2021, 08:27
April build up here in oxfordshire was good with nice temperatures, lots of pollen, lots of drones and many swarms with some virgin that mated. May has knocked them back and hives low again due to all the rain and missing out on all the cherry blossom we have here. Hopefully end of May picks up.
 #10870  by NigelP
 13 May 2021, 16:53
England is comprised of so many microclimates it's difficult to know what the weather will be like a few miles away. As I found out today, went fishing 7 miles away and left a lovely warm sunny day behind. Cloud cover grew and thunderstorm at lake. Followed by several cold heavy showers...
Back home was driving through standing water on the roads until 2 miles away and it was dry as a bone and sun was still shining when I got home. I would think we had good mating weather today whereas if you lived at Hawnby with bees you had no chance...
Thise few miles can make a such a huge difference.
 #10884  by huntsman.
 14 May 2021, 13:19
Weather has been fairly similar here (Dublin,) for many weeks.

Yesterday was calm and sunny with temperatures of about 15C between 2 to 4p.m.

Around 4p.m. I saw my drones returning home, which would be
their usual time.

My guess is that the lads know what's best and said to themselves, 'Let's go for it.'