My method for nuc making with virgin queens .

[Curly green finger's]

Hi I’ve made a few nucs this season here’s my method
Day one morning : make nuc with
4 - capped brood or mixed
2 two pollen/honey
A good shake of young bees then move to another site some distance away .

Day two morning : after they have settled and are flying take 4/6 flying bees from the entrance and add them to a roller cage with a virgin not more than 12 hrs old put roller cage on top of frames close up .

Day three/four inspect and knock down any queen cells go through them really well shaking of all frames that are very congested .
By this time the virgin is being fed access there reaction to her through the roller cage and release.
I’ve not taken them beyond 5 days as by this time 100% of the virgin queens have been excepted .

Also my mating from this method has been 95% and I am using local tan/ black stock across the board
I hope this method is understandable
Thanks
Mark

Edit: it’s pretty much full proof and quite easy to do .

 

[ericbeaumont]

move to another site some distance away

Last week or so I've made a few two-frame nucs and caged the virgins (originating from different colonies) with 2 extra shakes of supers bees, but kept the nucs in the same apiary to rid the nuc of flyers, which are least likely to accept. After 12 hrs the caged virgins were released; no results yet.

These nucs were unplanned; any better ways to make use of virgins, before they go stale?

 

[Mabee]

These nucs were unplanned; any better ways to make use of virgins, before they go stale?

apideas?

 

[Curly green finger's]

apideas?

I don’t know I’m starting to find them a pain kieler mini nucs are better a bit bigger.

 

[Curly green finger's]

apideas?

Double post

 

[ericbeaumont]

apideas?

Tried those years ago and found them fiddly; also had a lot of absconding & failure to mate, despite siting them out of full sun.

 

[Ian123]

I’ve tried apideas and then used Kieler typed and then went back to normal nucs.

 

[ericbeaumont]

went back to normal nucs.

More to the point, how do you get on with the Defender?

 

[Ian123]

More to the point, how do you get on with the Defender?

I’ve become good friends with a local metal fabricator and a mechanic!

 

[madasafish]

I overwinter Apideas with supers.. and Kielers with supers. I find Apideas easy to handle if you shield from full day sun

 

[Curly green finger's]

I’ve tried apideas and then used Kieler typed and then went back to normal nucs.

I think that’s where I’m heading using nucs 3/5/6 frame, mating is well over 95% .
I’m almost fearful to put a lovely grafted black queen in a apideas it’s a damn waste of good queens first hit this spring 12 out of 20 are ok .
Kieler mini 16 out of 20 so a little better but still not brilliant.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I overwinter Apideas with supers.. and Kielers with supers. I find Apideas easy to handle if you shield from full day sun

Don’t blame you with your comment about not reading , the manipulation was simple enough double brood above a qx ,queen in a new box with foundation below what’s not simpler than that?

 

[Ian123]

I overwinter Apideas with supers.. and Kielers with supers. I find Apideas easy to handle if you shield from full day sun

I overwintered some many years ago just copying another beek I new, he would keep his in a large bee house/shed on shelf’s up against an entrance. It was fun having the little units and great to prove it can be done.
I just found they needed a lot of attention winter or summer and they aren’t really practical long term. It’s easy to get them onto a few deep frames if you have the boxes of course!

Mark….You very rarely get brilliant success! Why do you think mated queens are expensive, learning ways to put the odds in your favour is of course part of the process.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I overwintered some many years ago just copying another beek I new, he would keep his in a large bee house/shed on shelf’s up against an entrance. It was fun having the little units and great to prove it can be done.
I just found they needed a lot of attention winter or summer and they aren’t really practical long term. It’s easy to get them onto a few deep frames if you have the boxes of course!

Mark….You very rarely get brilliant success! Why do you think mated queens are expensive, learning ways to put the odds in your favour is of course part of the process.

Indeed mate indeed I’ll probably have my apideas for sale 20 more 6 frame poly nucs on order.

 

[Little_bees]

Don’t blame you with your comment about not reading , the manipulation was simple enough double brood above a qx ,queen in a new box with foundation below what’s not simpler than that?

Was this supposed to be a reply in your other thread about demarees??
You need to slow down and take a breather!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Was this supposed to be a reply in your other thread about demarees??
You need to slow down and take a breather!

I can’t , I’m running on honey fumes and home made sandwiches

 

[Curly green finger's]

I overwintered some many years ago just copying another beek I new, he would keep his in a large bee house/shed on shelf’s up against an entrance. It was fun having the little units and great to prove it can be done.
I just found they needed a lot of attention winter or summer and they aren’t really practical long term. It’s easy to get them onto a few deep frames if you have the boxes of course!

Mark….You very rarely get brilliant success! Why do you think mated queens are expensive, learning ways to put the odds in your favour is of course part of the process.

Definitely got to get rid of the apideas minis ,all of my virgin queen intros have been a success in nucs and only 2 have gone missing out of 36 , talking about my nuc method above I’ve just released virgins after only day 2/3 and I watched 6 queens being fed and going down between frames … oh I love this job I’m never going to tier of it .
Some times you have to stop and watch things even if you are busy as the girls.

 

[simonforeman]

I'm a bit of novice still on queen rearing but find that if I have my 3 frame nucs hopelessly queenless then I just run my virgins in the entrance. Have had very good results doing it this way