Bee improvement????

[PBee]

Sorry but I don't think there's going to be much of a guarantee with a cheap imported queen. If you want or need to buy in queens your best bet would be to try to source them locally and from someone who lets their queens establish a proper brood pattern in their mininuc before sending them out to buyers.

Bit of a generalisation to differentiate based on geography. Lots of excellent breeders all over Europe who evaluate properly and will replace/compensate if a valid problem exists.

 

[drumgerry]

Not a generalisation at all. I was referring to the specific supplier of the OP's queens - easy to ID from the info he provided. I wasn't speaking about the generality of queen breeders.

And do we really want to get into the issue of local versus imported? It's yet another polarised debate which has had much exposure on this forum in years gone by.

 

[PBee]

And do we really want to get into the issue of local versus imported? It's yet another polarised debate which has had much exposure on this forum in years gone by.

Without a hint of polarity there would be little debate ..... aaaah the hushed corridors of the SBAi .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=ozBVguR5lrA&NR=1

 

[Hawklord]

Regarding the use of mini nucs, I've read that it stresses the bees and shortens the queen's life span. Apart from taking less bees out of production, what are the benefits of using a mini nuc?

 

[Finman]

Regarding the use of mini nucs, I've read that it stresses the bees and shortens the queen's life span. Apart from taking less bees out of production, what are the benefits of using a mini nuc?

benefits are for those who produce much queens to sell.

I cannot see any advantage to beeks which have few hives.

3 frame nucs with normal frame size are very handy.


Mininucs are not real hives. Queens swarm easily when laying space is used.


If you rear 20 queens you need lots of bees to mating nucs. But who needs 20 queens at same time?
.
.

 

[drumgerry]

Without a hint of polarity there would be little debate ..... aaaah the hushed corridors of the SBAi .....

Civilised yes, hushed no.

For all the polarity you'll ever need I suggest heavy use of this forum's search facility.

 

[For want of a better word]

And do we really want to get into the issue of local versus

imported?


BBKA strongly commend that their membership do NOT import queens or colonies of bees into the UK.

Good enough recommendation for me !

I think the OP has been answered.... meanwhile my ponds are FULL of frogsspawn!

 

[PBee]

Civilised yes, hushed no.

For all the polarity you'll ever need I suggest heavy use of this forum's search facility.

You seem to have the ability to wear the robe of the barbarian quite well ..... must be the magnetism of polarity?

 

[drumgerry]

And another keyboard warrior is revealed. What is it with you lot and your need to insult people? "Wear the robe of the barbarian"?? - if I typed what I just thought in reply to that I'm pretty sure admin or HM would have banned me. Don't they have forums in your black cloud place here you can be a troll to your hearts content?

 

[PBee]

And another keyboard warrior is revealed. What is it with you lot and your need to insult people? "Wear the robe of the barbarian"?? - if I typed what I just thought in reply to that I'm pretty sure admin or HM would have banned me. Don't they have forums in your black cloud place here you can be a troll to your hearts content?

Sitting Bull?

Civility and civilisation are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Hawklord]

I probably won't be running more than 8 colonies so would want to produce 8 queens. So Iallowing for failures might produce 12. My idea would be to allow the chosen colony to produce swarm cells up to 6 days old and then cut them out, attatch theminto a frame and put them into a queenless colony to finish off. Because of our climate I could repeat this process at weekly intervals, thus increasing chance of the weather being good when the queens are on the wing.

 

[ian]

Hi

How will you insure they want to swarm on a regular basis. If you intend just to keep them in a crowded box this can work, but you will get the bees to a point of such frustration they can/will swarm well before the quoted cap cell stage. Learn to graft and produce the cells when u want.

Ian

 

[For want of a better word]

The Millar system of notching would work for you, or even put a slice of comb with eggs face down, simply squeezed onto the top bar of a frame onto a queen- minus, top side of your hive with a qe between the boxes... easy way to produce queens without waiting for swarm cells and risking the loss of a whole colony?

You would need to get some queen cages tho!

 

[Hawklord]

I've found that when they start to think about swarming they will have empty queen cups, which I destroy. A week later more queen cups with eggs, again destroyed. Following week the cups will be larger with larvae in them. It is at this point when I use an AS to stop any loss of bees.

 

[oliver90owner]

For just a few queens, just demaree a really strong colony. Even swap frames from another colony if required. Simple, timings for beek. No particular risk of swarming. Limited number of queen cells produced each session. Continuation throughout the better part of the season. Only need bees for the splits and not necessarily all at once.

A really simple job.

 

[Finman]

I've found that when they start to think about swarming they will have empty queen cups, which I destroy. A week later more queen cups with eggs, again destroyed. Following week the cups will be larger with larvae in them. It is at this point when I use an AS to stop any loss of bees.

that is really unnecessary. Every hive makes queen cups but they do not hhave intention to swarm.

.

 

[johnandyrob]

Take a look a "Raising Honey Bee Queens" Khalil Hamdan . It was linked by Finman a while ago but I can't find the original post and don't know how to link it.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Take a look a "Raising Honey Bee Queens" Khalil Hamdan . It was linked by Finman a while ago but I can't find the original post and don't know how to link it.

It is here.......http://www.countryrubes.com/images/Raising_Honey_Bee_Queens_8_30_10.pdf

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16838

 

[Finman]

.
I have reared queens this way for years. It goes fine.

- when some hive starts to swarm, I change good larvae to the queen cells. Hive accept almost all larvae and I get about 10 queens.

- when queens are near emerging, i put a frame with bees to 3-frame nuc and carry nuc to some distant yard.

- when bees have reared the queen, there is no accept problems.

I do not like all kind of professional rearing tricks, and the result is often near zero.

I change queens in hives when it is handy. I have no program for that.
False swarm making is a good moment to give new queens.
But often a swarm becomes very upset if you change the queen. They stop their keen working.



.
.

 

[Finman]

Hi

How will you insure they want to swarm on a regular basis.
Ian

when you take queens from swarming hive, you sure get next sumer swarms.

.