Dared
House Bee
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2012
- Messages
- 163
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- north hykeham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- now 6!
Hi All,
Just looking at the Paradise hives from Finland which look ok but intrigued by their Queen trap system which I have not seen before. Have pasted the description below so you can have a read as not sure how good a method thisreally is?
Main advantages:
– easy to assemble and use – reduces beekeeping work – increases honey crop
– prevents swarming
"When the main honey flow and swarming season starts, the queen is transferred to the lower brood chamber and the Queen Trap System is placed on top of it. It provides an entrance with a landing board for the bees between the two lowermost boxes. A closing board is used to permanently close the entrance in the bottom board.
The queen is trapped in the lowest brood chamber, but the bees can move freely through the trap’s queen excluder to feed her and take care of the brood. The bees will carry nectar and pollen through the new entrance between the boxes and store the honey in the supers located above. Swarming is prevented because the queen cannot leave the hive through the excluder.
If the colony tries to swarm the bees will realize that the queen is not with them and will return to their hive and continue collecting nectar and pollen. When the swarming fever is over and the queen is laying eggs the normal entrance in the bottom board can be opened again. If there is a virgin queen in the brood chamber the opening of the normal entrance in the bottom board enables her to start her mating flights. Two weeks after opening the entrance the young queen will be laying eggs. Sometimes both the old and young queen are living side by side in the hive. The queens that tried to swarm and their daughters should be replaced before the next season to minimize swarming problems in the future."
Just looking at the Paradise hives from Finland which look ok but intrigued by their Queen trap system which I have not seen before. Have pasted the description below so you can have a read as not sure how good a method thisreally is?
Main advantages:
– easy to assemble and use – reduces beekeeping work – increases honey crop
– prevents swarming
"When the main honey flow and swarming season starts, the queen is transferred to the lower brood chamber and the Queen Trap System is placed on top of it. It provides an entrance with a landing board for the bees between the two lowermost boxes. A closing board is used to permanently close the entrance in the bottom board.
The queen is trapped in the lowest brood chamber, but the bees can move freely through the trap’s queen excluder to feed her and take care of the brood. The bees will carry nectar and pollen through the new entrance between the boxes and store the honey in the supers located above. Swarming is prevented because the queen cannot leave the hive through the excluder.
If the colony tries to swarm the bees will realize that the queen is not with them and will return to their hive and continue collecting nectar and pollen. When the swarming fever is over and the queen is laying eggs the normal entrance in the bottom board can be opened again. If there is a virgin queen in the brood chamber the opening of the normal entrance in the bottom board enables her to start her mating flights. Two weeks after opening the entrance the young queen will be laying eggs. Sometimes both the old and young queen are living side by side in the hive. The queens that tried to swarm and their daughters should be replaced before the next season to minimize swarming problems in the future."
and never look at your bees.
