Dead Line For Making Nucs

[Millet]

As per title when would you call it a day raiding hives for sealed brood and stores...
The reason i ask... Is i made two new nucs today with mated Queens... one colony is like pussy cats the other is vile... however the vile colony is very productive and on double brood boxes...(F3 Angry Danish Buckfast) by the way...

I also have a angry Romanian F2 colony that could take a split also... i recon i could easily make three colonies from the two of them (with feeding obviously)..

If anyone can understand what i mean is it still worth ordering more Queens..

 

[Murox]

If the weather is good and there is forage or feed to be had (pollen may be an issue?) then I think their is time and its a reasonable gamble to bring in a new queen. In the past I have had actual swarms in mid August from feisty hives (living in Essex back then) and they overwintered well. Even October can be a fairly mild and settled month.

 

[Eyeman]

My last round of mini mating nucs won't be mated for another couple of weeks. These queens will be going into 2 & 3 frame nucs some of which will need to be made up from my queen rearing/ brood donating double brood conies. These will then over winter on single brood. So should be enought time available is you have the spare brood.

 

[Millet]

Thanks for the input...i will go for it next week..we have no shortage of pollen as the two large gardens near bye are full of exotic plants and shrubs mainly Dalia that flower for a long time... the bees are all over these at the moment with good loads of pollen being taken in the hives.. we also have a large area of ivy not too far away... feeding sugar syrup and fondant is also not a problem as i have a good stockpile of both..
Cheers
Steve.

 

[Erichalfbee]

So, Steve......what's the hive count going into winter, then?

 

[B+.]

is it still worth ordering more Queens..

I think a lot depends on your area. If you have pollen, all you need do is give them syrup. So long as the weather stays warm, they'll even draw foundation.
I would only buy queens this late in the year if they're exceptional. However, theres no reason why you can't form nucs from your own mated queens.

 

[wightbees]

I'm going for another round of Queen's this week but I'm far south.

 

[Angry_Mob]

I've ordered a few queens for the beginning of September. Plan is to remove the supers, split and begin treatment.

 

[Beefriendly]

However, theres no reason why you can't form nucs from your own mated queens.

There are several reasons why one doesn't usually breed beyond an F1 generation of Buckfast queens in an area of defensive local bees. Send me some of your F1 open mated queens and I'll send you back some of their F2 offspring and you'll understand why.
It's fine in areas where the local bees are nice and pleasant to work with....not all of us are that fortunate.

 

[Millet]

So, Steve......what's the hive count going into winter, then?

It should hopefully be seven/eight it would have been more but i am helping a friend out who has been mentored in the wrong way which left him with two of his three hives Queenless and dieing out.. so i have bought him a mated Queen too make him a new colony.

 

[Millet]

There are several reasons why one doesn't usually breed beyond an F1 generation of Buckfast queens in an area of defensive local bees. Send me some of your F1 open mated queens and I'll send you back some of their F2 offspring and you'll understand why.
It's fine in areas where the local bees are nice and pleasant to work with....not all of us are that fortunate.

That is so true and that is why i am splitting the F3 Queen colony to death as they are mental (not too bad but no fun).. she is laying for fun and has wall to wall brood in both double brood boxes.