Bees Absconding from mating nucs

[tonyofarr]

We normally do not have problems with bees swarming from kieler mating nucs, but this year it has been bad, we lost 10 back in May, and when SWMBO checked yesterday we had lost another 2. I should also add that we also lost 2 nucs set up for mating in paynes polynuc hives yesterday.

We are thinking the hot weather is playing a part in this, and for that reason on the last round of queen rearing SWMBO made up mating nucs with only 250 ml of bees in. Wife has run round and shut the doors onto the queen excluder of any nucs where the vq should be mated by now.

Its a shame the weather is going to break in a few days because the bees have got a massive flow on from clover at the moment and are filling supers fast. After 2 crap years for honey we really need this but the weather where we are is capricious, but anyway back to the point of the thread has anyone else had problems with their mating nucs clearing off?

 

[madasafish]

Our Association Apiary did.
A cover board on the roof sorted that..

 

[tonyofarr]

Thanks, will give it a go.

 

[dn170221]

I think a mating nuc with its small number of bees would have problems regulating the heat.
Are you keeping them in partial shade?

 

[Quis Custodiet]

Keep them on the north side of a hedge or bank and well pushed into the shade. Keep them also out of the flight lines of the main hives...another error that can sometimes be made.

 

[nantmoel]

I had 5 abscond out of 6, we had terrible weather when I made them up in late May and as soon as the weather improved they were off! Gutted..

 

[Teemore]

Levels of absconding seem to vary from year to year even when following the same practices in the same mating apiaries.
I entirely agree about keeping them shaded. All mine are at the base of hedges. Also, it can help not to put queens or cells from the same batch into mating nucs that are close together. Currently only running about 20 mating nucs (Kielers and Apideas) and have been feeding grafts to other beekeepers also. Have only had one instance of absconding from my own mini nucs this year. Another beekeeper has had three abscond after queens emerged.

 

[Gaz1]

I have a nuc with a queen about to emerge. Is it common they do one if things aren't to their fancy

 

[B+.]

has anyone else had problems with their mating nucs clearing off?

Yes. I've lost a few from Apidea but my 5-frame Langstroth nucs are ok. I think its just been too hot for them in the mini-nucs

 

[Plenty of honey]

Our mating nucs are far too strong, i am shaking out bees tomorrow, big time! our flow is good too, stinking hot! luckily I have harvested most queens otherwise (i am thinking they would abscond too) . new ones going in tomorrow morning after shaking out bees! https://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=14472&stc=1&d=1497974717

 

[B+.]

Our mating nucs are far too strong,

Careful Richard, you may have a few bees in that nuc!

 

[Plenty of honey]

Careful Richard, you may have a few bees in that nuc!

Last year we didn't get good early build up, this year, after aprill's cold nights it all went crazy! Sheets of brood in the mini plus Nucs, we weren't expecting them to Be so good so early!! Every year is certainly different to the othet!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tonyofarr]

We keep all our nucs and mating nucs separate to our hives and either next to hedges or under large oak and ash trees. This might sound bonkers but I am wondering if the decision to swarm is made early on in some colonies in mating nucs because they never seem to have drawn much wax from the top bars, whereas the others have drawn wax that is rapidly extended once the queen is mated.

 

[B+.]

We keep all our nucs and mating nucs separate to our hives and either next to hedges or under large oak and ash trees. This might sound bonkers but I am wondering if the decision to swarm is made early on in some colonies in mating nucs because they never seem to have drawn much wax from the top bars, whereas the others have drawn wax that is rapidly extended once the queen is mated.

In my case, those that absconded all did so on the same day. This suggests to me that it was more a result of the weather conditions on that day rather than on a long-standing plan.
They were in Apideas too, which have quite small ventilation grills. It would be interesting to hear if others experienced this.

 

[Teemore]

In terms of Apidea usage and weather, i'll record my observation that in 2016 my bees propolised up the front vent, even after i raised the "door" to its upper limit to reduce the draft. This year, none have begun to propolise the vent and the bees have been very quick to draw out the three frames. All mine benefit from a lot of shade.
After the initial fill of fondant, i have not yet had to feed any of my mating nucs and am about to replace the feeders with frames as they are building comb in the feeders. Will be cutting out comb/brood in the Apideas to stop them getting too congested. I have upper extensions for the kielers to dont have to worry about them getting congested to the same extent.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

In the Apidea website there is a photo of what looks like a white mini nuc plus.
Has anybody seen one?

 

[B+.]

In the Apidea website there is a photo of what looks like a white mini nuc plus.
Has anybody seen one?

If you mean, has anyone seen mini-plus hives, I have some. I use them for VSH testing

 

[Quis Custodiet]

If you mean, has anyone seen mini-plus hives, I have some. I use them for VSH testing

Thank you and apologies for the confusing nomenclature. I was referring to the wee hives which take half shallow dadant frames. Thornes sell one and a similar one is available from some European suppliers. Lyson manufacture one which can be divided in two, but I think it is too shallow for the above frames, perhaps someone who has one could comment?
In the Apidea website there is a photo of a small white hive which appears to also be one. Details, even from Ben Harden, are difficult to obtain, so I was wondering if anyone here had encountered one?

 

[mbc]

I have lots of the lyson mini plus and they work well for me.
They have an Ashforth type feeder which gives a little insulation and more space than apideas or kielers but I still lost one or two through absconding in the fierce heat.

 

[B+.]

I was referring to the wee hives which take half shallow dadant frames. Thornes sell one and a similar one is available from some European suppliers. Lyson manufacture one which can be divided in two, but I think it is too shallow for the above frames, perhaps someone who has one could comment?

We have discussed these before. The mating hives that Thornes sells as Queen rearing Nucs (QRN) are, in fact, Mini-Plus hives from Germany. I have some of these with the plastic frames that clip together and make a full length frame that is almost the same (slightly shorter) as a Langstroth medium (Dadant depth) super. If you want to use these in a medium super, you'd need to put a plywood filler in for it to rest on.
They overwinter queens in 3 Mini-Plus boxes with a feeder ontop and fondant in the floor. Its only the volume of 1 1/2 mediums so that's almost the same as a Langstroth deep. A queen should overwinter in this ok in this country.

I think I would only use the two-ways that mbc is talking about as mating nucs and I don't think a queen could over-winter in them