On Saturday, 14 June 2025, the KwaZulu-Natal Bee Farmers Association (KZNBFA) had the pleasure of hosting a presentation on one of the most fascinating—yet often overlooked—aspects of South African beekeeping: queen rearing.
Whether you’re a backyard hobbyist or managing dozens of hives, understanding how to raise queens is central to maintaining healthy, productive colonies. And our speaker, Marnie Steyn, brought fresh insight to the topic, challenging many long-held habits and expectations within South African beekeeping.
With years of hands-on experience, Marnie has spent much of her career adapting queen rearing techniques to suit our native Apis mellifera scutellata bees. Her talk began with an overview of the queen’s role in the hive—emphasising just how vital she is to the colony’s health, temperament, and productivity.
Queen rearing, as Marnie pointed out, is often undervalued in our local context. Yet it holds huge potential to improve honey yields, colony resilience, and overall hive management. She explained the natural triggers that lead to queen replacement—like swarming or emergency situations—and how beekeepers can intentionally raise queens to strengthen genetics or scale up operations.
What made the talk particularly engaging was how inclusive it was. Marnie explored several queen rearing approaches, from simple, low-tech methods perfect for hobbyists to more advanced systems suitable for those interested in supplying queens to commercial apiaries. Even if you never plan to raise queens yourself, the presentation was rich with insights into bee biology, behaviour, and best practices for hive care.
One of Marnie’s standout qualities is her generosity with knowledge. She’s passionate about supporting other beekeepers on their journey and offers continued learning through her newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
Whether you’re new to beekeeping or simply curious about the queen’s place in the hive, this was an inspiring and eye-opening session that reminded us all: strong queens build strong colonies—and strong colonies are the future of South African beekeeping.
We would also like to thank Guy McGladdery for his generosity in suppling some lucky draw prizes for two lucky attendees.
