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Planning next year's queens in October — which colonies make my graft list, and what am I writing down now?

Twenty years in Bavaria, 30 production colonies and a small breeding effort. October is when I actually decide next season's queen programme, not April, and I think that's the single biggest change that improved my stock. What goes in the notebook this month, per colony: mite load after treatment, how much feed they needed to reach target weight, temper on the last three visits, brood pattern from the September inspection, and whether they were still rearing brood late or shut down cleanly. I also note anything I disliked — running on the comb, excessive propolis, bad wintering last year. The list of possible breeders comes out of that, then I confirm it in March with how they came through. A colony that overwinters on little feed with low mite counts and a calm temper is worth ten that made a big crop in a good year. What do the rest of you actually record in autumn, and does anyone score it formally?
#queen-rearing#records#breeding#planning
▲ 2 votes 💬 2 replies
2 replies
AlpineCarnica · Oct 6, 2026
Tyrol. I score four things out of five on a card stapled inside the roof: temper, comb steadiness, brood pattern, and overwintering. Sum below 12 and she is on the replace list. It sounds bureaucratic but it stops me making the decision emotionally in spring, when I always want to forgive a colony that's flying nicely.
MieleMarco · Oct 6, 2026
Tuscany, fourteen years. Agree on autumn decisions. The one I'd add to ImkerinLena's list is frugality — how much syrup they took to reach weight. My best two lines take about a third less than the worst, and over 40 hives that's real money and real winter survival.
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