Micro queen rearing

[Poly Hive]

A lot of beekeepers are put off from trying to raise a few queens due to the perceived cost of achieving this, whether in lost honey or the bother.

It's a shame as queen rearing can be great fun though of course as with all things bee related it can also be frustrating.

If you have let's say 10 or less colonies how do you go about it?

Graft? Cloake Board or Miller or?

Let's hear the stories people.

PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Using Demarree for swarm avoidance gives you plenty of good quality Queen cells for nuc building or mating hives.

 

[Curly green fingers]

It does if you have very prolific queen's/ big colony's
To work with..

 

[Finman]

Change a good larva into swarming cells.

Put those cell frames over the excluder that hidden emerged queens cannot kill grafted cells.

 

[jeff33]

I have used the cloake board before with some success and split the colony into 3 frame nucs with the cells. I think you have to try most or all methods until you a) find which you prefer and b) know what is best suited for your current needs.

 

[jeff33]

Change a good larva into swarming cells. Put those cell frames over the excluder that hidden emerged queens cannot kill grafted cells.

Assuming that you didn't notice them too late? I have wondered if you could remove say for example a 5 days old larva from a swarm cell and replace by a 1 day old larva or would it drown in the jelly?

 

[deemann1]

Could I just not add space for a colony, let them get congested so they want to swarm and split the stock into several nucs ,with cut out cells?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It does if you have very prolific queen's/ big colony's
To work with..

If, as you allude, your colonies were that poor, would you want to make increase from them?

 

[Finman]

Assuming that you didn't notice them too late? I have wondered if you could remove say for example a 5 days old larva from a swarm cell and replace by a 1 day old larva or would it drown in the jelly?

You may assume many things, how things go wrong, but you may use your brain too.
At least success rate has been 100%.

I do not need to move 5 days old larva, if it feels so.

If you brake all Queen cells from a swarming hive, they make new cells. Put them Miller zig zag larva comb from mother hive into the swarm hive and you get a good setup.

Larvae are on the surface of jelly. They do not drown.

 

[domino]

I use the method on the NBU site. Someone taught me grafting in an afternoon and every year I give it a whirl .... with varying results.

I use overwintered nucs as donors for mating hives etc and mate in three frame nucs. For the 20 or so queens I need it works.

As some point I'll move to smaller mating nucs.

 

[Ian123]

Could I just not add space for a colony, let them get congested so they want to swarm and split the stock into several nucs ,with cut out cells?

Yes you can do it that way for sure but then are you raising from your best or whats available...And much like skep beekeepers you are encouraging swarmy bees...All bees swarm its natural but some are far more ready to go than others, there is a huge difference.

 

[Curly green fingers]

If, as you allude, your colonies were that poor, would you want to make increase from them?

I was making s point doing a damaree for swarm control isn't for the faint hearted and as a beginner there's easier ways.

 

[Finman]

Yes you can do it that way for sure but then are you raising from your best or whats available...And much like skep beekeepers you are encouraging swarmy bees...All bees swarm its natural but some are far more ready to go than others, there is a huge difference.

You will get very expencive own Queens with those tricks.

 

[Beefriendly]

I was making s point doing a damaree for swarm control isn't for the faint hearted and as a beginner there's easier ways.

Far simpler to go for Snelgrove method 1 (Swarm prevention) and move frames with queen cells into nucs. It's a doddle.

 

[domino]

Far simpler to go for Snelgrove method 1 (Swarm prevention) and move frames with queen cells into nucs. It's a doddle.

I've bought some 2nd hand boards and giving it a go this year.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

I've only had bees for 2 and a bit summers but each year have tried to make increase.

First year - let my one colony build into a double National BB and them split in early July ( I'd also taken out a 5 frame nuc for bought in queen before this).
Divided BB into 2x5 frame nucs leaving a QC in each. One failed, one mated OK.
12lb honey.

Second year - was going to try the Nicot system but they had started swarm cells. So I cut out QCs after doing an artificial swarm. In late June set up 6x3 frame nucs, one QC in each, 5 open mated OK, one failed.
2 artificial swarms, both failed. Lost queens! (need to improve this)
47lb honey (still not managed to sell any. I may disown the family)

So one colony to 3 colonies to 6 colonies. That's more enough for me to keep in garden so will give away or sell a couple if they make it through this winter.

This year? Nicot system would produce too many cells for me so want to try small scale grafting and setting up a cell builder for the fun of it really. I now have a couple of colonies that can be left to just produce honey.

. . . . Ben

 

[Finman]

I've only had bees for 2 and a bit summers but each year have tried to make increase.

First year - let my one colony build into a double National BB and them split in early July ( I'd also taken out a 5 frame nuc for bought in queen before this).
Divided BB into 2x5 frame nucs leaving a QC in each. One failed, one mated OK.
12lb honey.

Second year - was going to try the Nicot system but they had started swarm cells. So I cut out QCs after doing an artificial swarm. .... And so on....

. . . . Ben

First, let the wintered hives first grow as big as they can, 4-5 box hives. Then you have afford to make nucs with emerging brood frames. Buy a laying Queen to the nuc. Buckfasts are good layers.

If you rear your own Queen, you loose one brooding month before the self made Queen lays. Then next month that the new bees emerge. 2 months and nothing has happened in the new nuc. Soon it is August.

From where you graft? Your own hives are not good enough to continue their family.

You loose so much honey with own Queen rearing that you may buy good Queens.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Far simpler to go for Snelgrove method 1 (Swarm prevention) and move frames with queen cells into nucs. It's a doddle.

Exactly ! Enough said.

 

[Finman]

I've only had bees for 2 and a bit summers but each year have tried to make increase.

First year - let my one colony build into a double National BB and them split in early July ( I'd also taken out a 5 frame nuc for bought in queen before this).
Divided BB into 2x5 frame nucs leaving a QC in each. One failed, one mated OK.
12lb honey.

Second year - was going to try the Nicot system but they had started swarm cells. So I cut out QCs after doing an artificial swarm. In late June set up 6x3 frame nucs, one QC in each, 5 open mated OK, one failed.
2 artificial swarms, both failed. Lost queens! (need to improve this)
47lb honey (still not managed to sell any. I may disown the family)

So one colony to 3 colonies to 6 colonies. That's more enough for me to keep in garden so will give away or sell a couple if they make it through this winter.

This year? Nicot system would produce too many cells for me so want to try small scale grafting and setting up a cell builder for the fun of it really. I now have a couple of colonies that can be left to just produce honey.

. . . . Ben

You should learn first the basics of beekeeping like build up, swarming control, honey making and preparing to Winter.

Now you mix lots of Queen rearing methods and you mix the basic beekeeping, even if you need only 2 new quality Queens.

IT seems that everything stupid is "funny", like extracting brood combs. Beekeeping is an expencive amusement if bees do not get honey.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

First, let the wintered hives first grow as big as they can, 4-5 box hives. Then you have afford to make nucs with emerging brood frames. Buy a laying Queen to the nuc. Buckfasts are good layers.

If you rear your own Queen, you loose one brooding month before the self made Queen lays. Then next month that the new bees emerge. 2 months and nothing has happened in the new nuc. Soon it is August.

From where you graft? Your own hives are not good enough to continue their family.

You loose so much honey with own Queen rearing that you may buy good Queens.

I do this for fun. And try to keep the costs down.

Extracting, bottling, labeling, selling honey is less interesting. Local mongrel queens are fine for me but I did buy a queen from a local breeder which produces friendlier bees than my first colony. I'll keep breeding from this strain.

I like Michael Palmer's sustainable strategy of keeping spare queens in non-production colonies so you can avoid broodless periods in the production colonies.

The goal was to get enough colonies to avoid being wiped out by winter losses. As yet the winter hasn't killed any colonies but my ham-fisted beekeeping has.

(probably not a question for this thread) But wondering how good my queens from emergency cells are compared to those raised in a cell builder.

. . . . Ben