When Do Bees Breed Fast? A Detailed Explanation of Breeding Key Points

Bees are a common farming project in rural areas. In the process of raising bees, doing a good job in breeding is the foundation, and it is the key to improving the economic benefits of bee breeding. So, when do bees breed fast? What are the breeding key points for bee raising? Let's find out together.

1. When do bees breed fast?

The fastest breeding speed of bees is in spring, mainly affected by conditions such as nectar sources, colony strength and climate. In fact, as long as the queen bee of the bees has worker bees, it will lay eggs non-stop. All individuals in the colony (new queen bees, drones and worker bees) are developed from the eggs it lays. A mated Chinese bee (Apis cerana) queen, with 5-7 million sperm filling its spermatheca, can lay 800-1,300 eggs in a day and night, and an excellent Chinese bee queen can lay a total of more than 100,000 eggs a year.

2. How to raise bees so they breed fast?

1. Appropriate flight: Spring is the key period for bee breeding, and at this time the bees, after experiencing winter, will have a large amount of waste deposited in their intestines. The presence of this waste is not conducive to the growth and breeding of bees. Appropriate flight can let them excrete the waste in their bodies.

2. Hive insulation: Spring is a time when the weather and temperature are changeable. Especially in early spring, the outside temperature is relatively low and simply cannot reach the temperature required for the growth of bee larvae. At this time, beekeepers need to heat their hives.

3. Queen rearing and colony splitting: In spring, most of the queen bees in the colony are old queens bred in the previous year. After two seasons of egg laying, the peak egg-laying period of the old queen is basically coming to an end. Therefore, it is best to carry out queen rearing and colony splitting early.

3. How can bees split colonies quickly?

1. Splitting in the same colony and same box: One week in advance, open an additional entrance. According to the condition of the colony, adjust the brood combs and honey-pollen combs on both sides evenly, and use a middle partition board to divide them into two from the middle. The next day, introduce 1 egg-laying queen bee or a virgin queen cell into the side without a queen.

2. Splitting with a super box and a bottom box: Set up the bottom box well, and place the super box on the flat box. Then take out 2-3 combs with bees and brood from the colony and put them into the prepared bottom box or super box. The next day, introduce 1 egg-laying queen bee or a virgin queen cell.

3. Splitting at the new site after migration: Before migrating the apiary, prepare the egg-laying queen in advance. Then, after migrating and settling at the new site, before the bees have made orientation flights, put combs with bees into the prepared empty bee boxes, at least 2-3 combs. The next day, introduce 1 egg-laying queen or a virgin queen cell.

4. Splitting in the queen replacement season: 2-3 days before the queen cell emerges, take out the original queen together with 2-3 combs of bees and brood as a breeding colony to continue breeding. Introduce 1 virgin queen into the original colony to let it mate. The split colony can be used as a breeding colony and can be moved away from the original apiary or placed in the original apiary.