Patience is a virtue

[JohnyP]

After over a month, the hive with the slow to start virgin has eggs, and larvae.

In fact, I have 6 out of 6 new queens just starting to lay up. However, there is definitely a difference between scrub queens and the larger ones from swarm cells, or is this due to how much they are being fed and looked after?

 

[For want of a better word]

Patience is a virtue
Seldom found in women
.... never found in men!

Is a scrub queen one formed as an emergency cell... or just a queen that appears to be on the small side?
My guess is that often the supercedure queen cells or ones produced using a Hopkins board probably get a lot more royal jelly than the emergency or even swarm cells.. must be something to do with nutrition?

Yeghes da

 

[B+.]

Is a scrub queen one formed as an emergency cell... or just a queen that appears to be on the small side?
My guess is that often the supercedure queen cells or ones produced using a Hopkins board probably get a lot more royal jelly than the emergency or even swarm cells..

I think a "scrub" queen is one that is not up to the job, irrespective of how she is made / mated.
The Hopkins method (https://www.countryrubes.com/images/How_to_raise_a_queen_bee_by_the_Hopkins_method_8_17_10.pdf) is a very simple method of raising queens. The bees can choose any larvae they want in this method and they will often choose the older larvae since they are queenless and need a queen asap. Consequently, the cells will often be emergency cells but does this make for a well nourished queen? I don't thik so. The ideal has to be a queen that was selected from hatching and fed continuously as though she was always intended to be a queen (not one they chose out of desperation).

 

[oliver90owner]

Keep it simple. Think number and age of larvae (if converted to queen cell late in development). Think size of cell rearing colony if there are many cells to feed, particularly if weak(ened) by bee attrition or some beek hoping to raise good queens by walk-away splits or using a test frame for a purpose for which it was not designed.

'Slow to start' actually means a long time to get mated. Even early June has not been good weather for good mating this year.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I got some reassurance on that point. A colony "passed" (or "failed") a test frame and based on days they passed ove larvae and went for ONE newest egg.

By the way: patience is not a virtue; it is a learned skill.

 

[B+.]

Even early June has not been good weather for good mating this year.

Its amazing how variable our climate is. I hear talk of unsuitable weather from around the country, yet I have been queen rearing since May (& I recall Hivemaker saying that he had started even earlier). No doubt it will be all different next year.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Its amazing how variable our climate is. I hear talk of unsuitable weather from around the country, yet I have been queen rearing since May (& I recall Hivemaker saying that he had started even earlier). No doubt it will be all different next year.

I have two wonderful Qs from an AS on 20 April.

 

[Finman]

I got some reassurance on that point. A colony "passed" (or "failed") a test frame and based on days they passed ove larvae and went for ONE newest egg.

By the way: patience is not a virtue; it is a learned skill.

Are you patient or not, it has nothing to do with facts, when the queen starts laying. It depend on weather, and not on your virtues-

.

 

[Finman]

I got some reassurance on that point. A colony "passed" (or "failed") a test frame and based on days they passed ove larvae and went for ONE newest egg.

By the way: patience is not a virtue; it is a learned skill.

Are you patient or not, it has nothing to do with facts, when the queen starts laying. It depend on weather, and not on your virtues.

However, a professional queen breeder cannot sell over time mated queens, because there are too big percentage poorly mated queens.

If you keep in your hives poor mated DIY queens, you will not accept same kind of queens if you have payed for them.

And perhaps you accept your own emergency queens, but perhaps not payed emergency queens.

.

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[Hawklord]

The ideal has to be a queen that was selected from hatching and fed continuously as though she was always intended to be a queen (not one they chose out of desperation).

Using that theory, an egg that was lsid for the sole purpose to be a queen would be even better - in other words a swarm cell.

 

[Thymallus]

Its amazing how variable our climate is. I hear talk of unsuitable weather from around the country, yet I have been queen rearing since May (& I recall Hivemaker saying that he had started even earlier). No doubt it will be all different next year.

You are not kidding about the climate. Three of my early mated queens have turned into drone layers, although one splutters a few normal larvae out and the bees are trying to draw Qcells from some of them. But no chance of that happening.

 

[oliver90owner]

Eggzackerly! Queens likely need a couple mating flights to get fully charged with semen. No waiting around for a couple of weeks for a second bite at the cherry. Partly mated and she will become a drone layer earlier than if fully mated. No rocket science. Hivemaker has a sheltered valley as a sun trap, I believe. Some of us get the rasping, at times, winds from the wash, some are just too northerly. More luck than judgement for many of us if we start to raise our few queens too early.

I have always expected the weather to be favourable from early June. But not this year.

 

[B+.]

Using that theory, an egg that was lsid for the sole purpose to be a queen would be even better - in other words a swarm cell.

or a supercedure cell.
Mike Palmer puts it very well in his presentations on queen rearing at the National Honey Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7tinVIuBJ8

 

[Thymallus]

Using that theory, an egg that was lsid for the sole purpose to be a queen would be even better - in other words a swarm cell.

Would agree, as long as the swarm cells come from an old queen in at least 2nd, or even better, 3rd year or 4th year.

 

[JohnyP]

Spoke too soon.... two of the nucs have DLQ's. I only noticed when the larvae were capped, with the telltail bulging tops etc. Shakeout time. Darn it....

 

[B+.]

Would agree, as long as the swarm cells come from an old queen in at least 2nd, or even better, 3rd year or 4th year.

If they were good years and her progeny were calm, hard working, disease resistant, productive bees...yes.

 

[Thymallus]

Sorry , I took those qualities as read.

 

[For want of a better word]

Looking back into my records... it seems many of my best queens are from supercedure... but then a lot of my pure native black Cornish honey bees tend to supercede!

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

.
I do not accept supercede queens, because their achievments have been under average.

There is often something wrong if queen will be changed by bees themselves.

 

[For want of a better word]

.
I do not accept supercede queens, because their achievments have been under average.

There is often something wrong if queen will be changed by bees themselves.

Need to add that this is perhaps a specific of the native Black bees in the West of the UK
The Italian / Carnolian hybrids you seem to have in Finland are very different it seems?

Yeghes da