Apiary Notes (June 2026) By Wally Thrale
Yet again the weather is having a significant impact on our beekeeping. As with last year we are going through a prolonged dry spell although rain is forecast in the coming days. The difference this year is that for much of May we had below average temperatures until the heatwave.
So what impact has this had on our beekeeping? Well as the weather was mild so early in the season bees built up strongly, especially if they were on oil seed rape (OSR). Many colonies were split by the end of April to prevent swarming. The weather then took a turn for the worse which prevented new queens going on mating flights. There have been several reports of colonies now without a laying queen or poorly mated queens.
In the process of putting these notes together I looked up timings for viable queen mating. The following are the results:
Day 0: Queen emerges.
Days 4–7: Sexual maturation; orientation flights begin.
Days 5–14: Prime mating period. Most successful mating flights occur during this window.
Days 14–21: Mating success starts to decline if she remains unmated.
After about 3–4 weeks: The risk of a poorly mated or completely unmated queen increases significantly.
By 4–6 weeks: Many queens are considered “stale” or “over-age” for reliable mating. Some can still mate, but success rates and sperm storage tend to be lower.
At a practical level we can consider the times below to guide us in our decision making:
<2 weeks after emergence: Usually no concern.
2–3 weeks: Watch closely.
>3 weeks: Increasing risk of inadequate mating.
>4 weeks: Many beekeepers would consider replacing her if no eggs are present and mating weather has been available.
I think that many colonies around the county are impacted by the recent cold spell.
If you think you have colony that is queenless and should have a laying queen by now there is a reliable way to determine if a queen is present or not. Place a frame of eggs from a colony with good characteristics in the hive (and mark with a pin so it obvious which frame it is). Leave the hive for 7 days and then inspect. If queen cells have been produced then a queen is not present. Leave one good looking queen cell and leave the colony alone for at least three weeks by which time the new queen should be laying.
If no queen cells were produced then a queen is present. Look on the other frames and check to see if she has come into lay during the past week. If she has then all is well. However, if there are no eggs the likelihood is that a failed queen is present. The workers can detect her presence even though she cannot perform properly. The queen needs to be removed before any of the following steps is taken:
- Add another frame of eggs to produce a queen
- Unite the colony elsewhere
- Introduce a new queen, either bought in or one of your own
Related Posts