Methods for transferring a queen out of an apidea

[Levitt53]

Hi,

One of my learning objectives this year is queen rearing and I have got an apidea. I understand how to fill it, add the QC etc and have worked out my method. What I am unsure of is how I will get the queen from there into a queenless hive. I have a snelgrove board so am thinking I could perhaps use that, but I am interested in people's techniques. I would say that I am not confident to pick up a Queen. My target hive is one which is fairly well populated and fairly nice temperament but has some chalkboard. I am splitting my lovely big, calm colony this week into a nuc but also planning to use the apidea. What introduction methods do people use? Thanks

 

[Erichalfbee]

It’s a perfect opportunity to practice your queen handling skills and put her into a cage.
I was always frightened of damaging her so practiced on a few drones and worker bees.
Have a look at Mike Palmer’s clip here
https://youtu.be/2EMhmfvHKFg

 

[Ian123]

Here’s a little trick I use with my mini nucs. Take a thin piece of ply or rigid/thick cardboard cut a couple of inches bigger than the top of your mini nuc all around. In the centre of your ply/card cut a hole out a few inches square but smaller than the internal dimensions of the mini nuc. Over this hole tape a piece of news paper. Place ply over top of nuc and turn as if your turning out a cake. The mini can then be placed over crown board hole or directly onto top bars of a colony. It’s a simple and safe paper unite. Ensure grids on mini are closed but open for ventilation. Just give your minis a once over and make sure there’s no large gaps to allow frames to flop it works for my mine, and you may want a few pin pricks in the paper.

 

[Jimmy]

Others with far more experience will offer some ideas but I found a water sprayer very helpful in stopping queens flying off from Apideas when trying to transfer.
Once I can see a good worker brood pattern in the apidea I spray the queen with a fine mist of water and transfer her to an introduction cage and then put that into a nuc.
For breeding 1 or 2 queens I'd recommend looking at the BS 3 frame nucs.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Here’s a little trick I use with my mini nucs. Take a thin piece of ply or rigid/thick cardboard cut a couple of inches bigger than the top of your mini nuc all around. In the centre of your ply/card cut a hole out a few inches square but smaller than the internal dimensions of the mini nuc. Over this hole tape a piece of news paper. Place ply over top of nuc and turn as if your turning out a cake. The mini can then be placed over crown board hole or directly onto top bars of a colony. It’s a simple and safe paper unite. Ensure grids on mini are closed but open for ventilation. Just give your minis a once over and make sure there’s no large gaps to allow frames to flop it works for my mine, and you may want a few pin pricks in the paper.

That sounds a really neat solution

 

[Levitt53]

It’s a perfect opportunity to practice your queen handling skills and put her into a cage.
I was always frightened of damaging her so practiced on a few drones and worker bees.
Have a look at Mike Palmer’s clip here
https://youtu.be/2EMhmfvHKFg

Thanks, yes I will practice with the queen I am culling. Something else to put on the list to learn.

 

[Levitt53]

Here’s a little trick I use with my mini nucs. Take a thin piece of ply or rigid/thick cardboard cut a couple of inches bigger than the top of your mini nuc all around. In the centre of your ply/card cut a hole out a few inches square but smaller than the internal dimensions of the mini nuc. Over this hole tape a piece of news paper. Place ply over top of nuc and turn as if your turning out a cake. The mini can then be placed over crown board hole or directly onto top bars of a colony. It’s a simple and safe paper unite. Ensure grids on mini are closed but open for ventilation. Just give your minis a once over and make sure there’s no large gaps to allow frames to flop it works for my mine, and you may want a few pin pricks in the paper.

That sounds like a great idea. I need to see if the frames will move but maybe I can do something similar with the bottom if they do. Thanks.

 

[beeno]

Hi Levitt, I hate marking skittish newly mated virgins in an Apidea. They are never on the frames. So, I have resorted to taking the Apidea into downstairs loo covering sink and loo in a white sheet reaching up to the window sill. The workers fly towards the window. I let them out to fly back to original position. In the end there is only the queen with a few workers left, so I can pick her up mark her and put her into cage!

 

[B+.]

Hi Levitt, I hate marking skittish newly mated virgins in an Apidea. They are never on the frames. So, I have resorted to taking the Apidea into downstairs loo covering sink and loo in a white sheet reaching up to the window sill. The workers fly towards the window. I let them out to fly back to original position. In the end there is only the queen with a few workers left, so I can pick her up mark her and put her into cage!

I do something similar when I receive test queens from other breeders. The difference is that I'm in a car out in the middle of a field...so, of course, I have to create a sealed environment to manipulate the queen into/out of a cage. The ideal solution is a clear plastic bag (ideal use for all those bags foundation come in).
1. Shake the queen and workers into the bag and gather it together at the top so it is bee-tight.
2. Put your hand in and manipulate the queen into a cage by herself
3. Slide the door shut
When I first did this, I thought the workers would just sting my hand but they don't. They seem quite confused and I can usually get the process done without receiving a single sting.

 

[beeno]

Hi B+, How many attendant workers? My apideas contain a mug full.

 

[masterBK]

Not sure why Ian123 is doing what he does. The bottom of an apidea slides out allowing you to simply paper unite it to a BC through the feed holes in a crown board. This is what I do with the last mated queens of the season. Previous queens mated in the Apideas (can get 3 or 4 queens in turn mated in a single Apidea during the summer if you are organised) are caught, marked and introduced using a cage.

 

[masterBK]

Now catching queens when they are not on those 3 little combs requires thought. If the queen is running around in the cavity of the Apidea if you try and catch her your hand obscures your view. I mist the cavity with water and then shake the bees out into a washing up bowl (where I have also put the frames). A damp queen doesn't fly allowing me to pick her up.

 

[Ian123]

Not sure why Ian123 is doing what he does. The bottom of an apidea slides out allowing you to simply paper unite it to a BC through the feed holes in a crown board. This is what I do with the last mated queens of the season. Previous queens mated in the Apideas (can get 3 or 4 queens in turn mated in a single Apidea during the summer if you are organised) are caught, marked and introduced using a cage.

Lol Ian is doing it that way because my minis have underfloor entrances and are raised off the ground so will not seal tight if just simply put over the feed hole or directly on top bars. I normally do this at the end of the season when packing them up but they can be removed and used again, and it works well with larger colonies.

 

[Barbarian]

I like the watering can method of introducing a Q into a Q- colony.

The colony is given a good drenching with a watering can. The Q is then put onto a top bar of the Q- hive. She nips down between the frames. The bees are busy cleaning themselves and accept her well.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I like the watering can method of introducing a Q into a Q- colony.

The colony is given a good drenching with a watering can. The Q is then put onto a top bar of the Q- hive. She nips down between the frames. The bees are busy cleaning themselves and accept her well.

This is the beginners section!
Not a good idea in my opinion.

 

[dn170221]

great photos MAsterBK. I had thought that was possible (part of the design) but a picture syas a thousand words!

 

[Levitt53]

Not sure why Ian123 is doing what he does. The bottom of an apidea slides out allowing you to simply paper unite it to a BC through the feed holes in a crown board. This is what I do with the last mated queens of the season. Previous queens mated in the Apideas (can get 3 or 4 queens in turn mated in a single Apidea during the summer if you are organised) are caught, marked and introduced using a cage.

Thanks, yes I think I was overthinking this all. It's obvious when someone points it out.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This is the beginners section!
Not a good idea in my opinion.

Looks like someone is busily reading Snelgrove's 'The Introduction Of Queen Bees', also subtitled 'Do you really want to be doing that?' great tome - in it, he doesn't really tell you 'the best way' to introduce a queen but rather, discusses every weird and wonderful method of introduction he has heard of then lets you decide on a method that works - it is how, after gleaning even more opinions of introduction that I worked out the method I use

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes that’s fine but giving beginners the idea that pouring water from a watering can over the bees might be a fun thing to do is nuts!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes that’s fine but giving beginners the idea that pouring water from a watering can over the bees might be a fun thing to do is nuts!

but people seem to like posting daft things on here