Does anyone know what a manley cage is and how I can make one?

[picton farm]

I think these are used commonly in the US and stop the queen from being chewed when she is introduced. Does anyone know what I mean or how I can get or make one?

 

[jasonahood]

I've never head of those, perhaps your confusing it with manley frames?

Here is a site that lists common types of cages http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/queencages.html

Most of the major beekeeping shops online sell cages of one sort or another.

 

[picton farm]

Nope I am often confused but not this time..... .... I have just been advised to use one for requeening some nasty bees that have been queenless for too long. I have googled myself silly looking for one but cant find out how to make it. My alternative is to go and borrow one from the chap who gave me the advice but i wanted to know if anyone else knew what it was.

 

[Mike a]

I think you must mean a Butler cage ?

Although I prefer other types so the queen has a safe area to avoid her feet from being chewed when first introduced.

One end is blocked up the other is part filled with candy or a sleeve of paper and candy to delay the release.

 

[picton farm]

I just looked a The link you sent to Dave Cushmans wonderful site and it migt be like the banking cage on there but He was adamant that it was called a Manley cage.... so i will keep looking. Thanks for the link

 

[picton farm]

Nope, not a butler cage. It needs to be something that stops them tearing at the queen when they have a drone layer in there. She needs to be kept far enough from the other bees to be safe but in the hive so that her pheromones travel into the hive and so the drone layers should stop laying as their ovaries shrink back. Apparently the drone layers will stop laying after a few days and then the queen can be introduced safely.

 

[Midland Beek]

The modern plastic introduction cages help reduce damage to queens, like the one from Swienty of Jz-Bz.

 

[picton farm]

I have those but this is something different. I have introduced a lot of queens but never to a drone laying hive. I have seen how they can be killed through the cages and as this is a bought queen I cant afford the risk

 

[Poly Hive]

The information you want is in Honey Farming by Manley. I include a scan of the diagram.

PH

 

[picton farm]

Thankyou sooooooo much. Yes that must be it. I dont suppose you could copy the page before for me as well as i think it might ave more dimensions. I am sure it will be easier to make it from the pictures than to drive 40 miles to borrow one and copy it.

 

[Poly Hive]

The page beofre, (205) just says:

"The cage we use

I will now briefly describe this cage, which is also issustrated here. Its frame is of African soft wood to stand the use of many small nails"

Thats all prior to the scan above.

PH

 

[picton farm]

Ok. Thanks. I guess I just thought there weren't enough dimensions in the text. Have you ever used one?

 

[Poly Hive]

No for the simple reason it looked to complex to make and as you know I prefer to keep it simples.

PH

 

[picton farm]

Hmm it doesnt look simple but I thought it might be worth a try. I wanted to give it a nice queen from Hivemaker next week. I know any kind of re queening with this hive will be problematic but there are a lot of bees in it and i cant face the petrol treatment.... Incidentally i think this is the hive tonybloke was referring to when he said he had helped a bee keeper with some nasty bees.

 

[fatshark]

The Nicot introduction cages are not dissimilar to this in principle. Sold by modern bee keeping. I've had considerable success re-queening hives with these. Place them over a patch of emerging brood, add the queen and leave for a few days. As the brood emerges it immediately accepts the queen. Then open the plug and allow the queen to leave in her own time.

--
fatshark

 

[picton farm]

Place them over a patch of emerging brood,


You might have missed the part when i said they had been queenless for too long and so there is no brood to emerge apart from that laid by the laying worker(s).I will look up the nicot thing though... thanks

 

[picton farm]

I dont think the nicot thing would work as I need her to be in the hive for at least 3 or 4 days to make sure the drone layers are no longer laying.

 

[Poly Hive]

She is going to arrive in a travelling cage with some attendants.

Let the attendants out, and seal in the queen with some tape.

Leave until you are comfortable with her getting out and let the colony get to the release candy.

KISS

PH

 

[MuswellMetro]

i have heard of introducing a nuc with mated queento laying workers first above a travel screen with bees locked in the nuc and feed for three five days 50% syrup, then newspaper combining

never done it, never had laying workers

 

[picton farm]

Hmm..... they are such nasty bees. I usually sandwich the cage between two frames of brood so the bees cant do too much damage ...then flick out the tab after a few days once I think they will be ok with her but I have never introduced a queen to a hive with laying workers. I have done 30 or so introductions with only 2 failures so far but usually with laying workers I just give up and chuck the bees on the floor and remove the hive. I dont want theses nasty ladies to be homeless as we will all get very badly stung. Dont you think they will try to kill her?