Grade Queens and Make a Call: Boost or Requeen?

When you come across a sluggish colony in midsummer, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is whether to boost it or requeen. In our latest field video, we walk you through how to critically assess queen performance and colony strength—and what to do next.

In this case, the hive had a relatively new queen, one of our research queens who weighed in at a healthy 236 mg at emergence. Her brood pattern was solid, and worker health looked good—no signs of Deformed Wing Virus, K-wing, or visible mites. So what was the issue?

Population. This colony had only two frames of bees at a time when numbers should be increasing.

One of Two Frames

Rather than replacing a queen that’s likely doing her job, we opted for a boost using a paper combine method. We added a queenless nuc directly above the weak colony, separated by newspaper with slits to allow pheromones to gradually blend. This approach supports the queen and builds colony strength without unnecessary requeening.

Whether you’re managing a small apiary or breeding queens at scale, learning to grade queens in the field and make confident decisions is key. Watch the full video below to see our step-by-step breakdown and learn how to tell the difference between a struggling queen and a struggling colony.

📽️ Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/Eu_9EFYgBM0

👑 Become a Golden Member today and take your beekeeping to the next level!

🌟 Get access to exclusive videos, expert support, and live Zoom forums.

-Your Mentorship Team