How Much Does Queen Bee Cost?
Queens are an important part of beekeeping. They are the genesis of the hive and they lay a lot of eggs. They are also responsible for the production of honey. They are highly valued by beekeepers and they can be quite expensive.
Buying a queen can be difficult, but you can usually find one at your local bee supply store. This is particularly true during the warm season (late spring through early fall).
The cost of a queen depends on a number of factors, including the species, age and health. A younger queen is naturally more valuable than a older one.
Some beekeepers purchase their queens from bee breeders. This ensures that the queen is bred for specific traits and genetic characteristics that are beneficial to your own bees. The queens are also generally color-coded, so you can tell them apart from other bees.
They can range from about $25 to $40 per pound of bees not including shipping charges. This is a good price to pay for a healthy, productive queen bee and it is certainly worth the investment.
Another place to get a queen is at your local beekeeping club. This is an excellent opportunity to purchase a high-quality queen from a beekeeping professional at a reasonable price.
Many beekeeping clubs will offer a discounted price for members of the club who buy their queens through the club. This is because they want to encourage their members to keep bees and help promote the sport in their community.
Whether you buy your queen at the bee club or elsewhere, it is always a good idea to ask questions about the quality of her and her breeding. It is also a good idea to check her out in person and see if she looks right for your hive.
Some beekeepers prefer to buy a queen that has been “open mated” with drones from their local area. This can increase the speed of hive growth as the new queen will quickly start laying eggs.
A queen will only mate with male bees once in her lifetime. She will collect the sperm from these mating flights and store it in a special organ for future use.
She will then use it to lay eggs for the rest of her life. She can live two to seven years, depending on her genetics and how many mates she has.
It is a good idea to replace your queen after she has reached this stage because the ability to lay eggs diminishes over time and your hive will become less productive.
In addition to laying eggs, the queen also produces a chemical scent that helps regulate unity in the hive and it is these aromas that beekeepers look for when they are searching for a new queen.
This is especially important when a hive has problems and a new queen is needed to fix it. A faulty queen can lead to the spread of disease among your bees and even split the colony, which will result in the creation of new queens.
