rainbow mating nucs

[Cuckmere couple]

a number of people say they have had success with these

i've also hear people say that there isnt enough space for sufficient bees to accompany a queen on mating flight etc and you therefore likely get poorly mated queens

any experience or views either way?

 

[Ian123]

Some paint mini nucs bright/different colours so queens can find their way home easier. How much it helps or what percentage i have no idea but it makes a good use of all the odd paint left over. I have never been concerned about how many bees accompany a queen on a mating flight and will eat my hat if it makes sod all differnece, they dont even really accompany her maj apart from out the front door and back so really cant see the problem

 

[madasafish]

They are no smaller than Apideas which have been successful for decades so you can ignore your sources.

I have 5: they work well in summer but limited insulation meant I found they were vulnerable to late frosts here.. Otherwise good.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

thanks madas

was planning to use in spring/early summer if i have some q cells with insufficient nucs for whole nuc box....

how large a clump of bees do you put in and for how long before a q cell etc?

 

[Poly Hive]

I load my minis, which I believe are a bit bigger than many makes, with a mug full of bees.

PH

 

[Cuckmere couple]

thanks Poly

process seems to be (with feed in mini nuc)

either

1. - put a capped q cell in

2. - then add bees (mainly nurse bees)

or

1 - put nurse bees in and wait a couple of hours (for the roar!)
2 - add q cell

then

3 - leave for a couple of days
4 - open up entrance
5 - leave for 2 weeks or so
6 - look for worker eggs etc

correct?

 

[Ian123]

If you are collecting bees for your minis you can shake bees in from 1 hive or many just ensure you have found the queen and she is safely kept/nuc box before you shake. A vented travel box is ideal for collecting the bees and a mist sprayer stops them taking off and helps them combine, if collecting from multiple hives. A mug works well but if you have a square box a square plastic drinks bottle cut to a scoop works well and gets in corners. If you want to get really accurate add water from mug tilt bottle at angle and mark line to cut. Give them a jolt in box take lid off and spray, then it’s just scoop and fill minis with an odd spray to prevent them all taking off. When storing the bees ensure your minis have vents open, bees obviously need cool conditions whilst confined

 

[Poly Hive]

Umm no. Not correct.

The 2nd go round yes Q cells but the first is better with a virgin.

The mug thing is a bit of a decoy as it's not the shape so much are the volume.

My units take four bars with the potential of another two so a good bit bigger than the diddy ones you are looking at.

Virgins are easy enough if you use some cages in a super. Top super that is.

PJH

 

[Ian123]

I don’t have issues using a cell first time around. Only issue being if queen/cells a dud or if she fails to return/mate then I find you need to restock mini. If they are established and it’s second time around you are then able to add a cell to any failures as you have emerging bees to sustain the nucs

 

[Hivemaker.]

Always use a virgin here when first stocking them with bees, once established almost always a ripe cell after mated queen removal.

 

[madasafish]

I don’t have issues using a cell first time around. Only issue being if queen/cells a dud or if she fails to return/mate then I find you need to restock mini. If they are established and it’s second time around you are then able to add a cell to any failures as you have emerging bees to sustain the nucs

I candle QCs before moving. Saves putting duds in a nuc.

 

[Ian123]

I candle QCs before moving. Saves putting duds in a nuc.

Sure thing a good idea but ive still found the odd 1 thats croaked in a cell and failed to emerge and even the odd virgin with a dodgy wing/dwv.....

"Always use a virgin here when first stocking them with bees, once established almost always a ripe cell after mated queen removal."

Pete i bow to your superior knowledge!!!. Am just saying that ive never had any issues starting with a cell, allowing for the odd dud. Also for smaller scale or first timers then it saves on storing virgins, cages that take cells, cage frames and even handling the virgins(I DUNK MINE BEFORE DROPPING IN) Had a couple go the wrong direction So not for 1 minute suggesting its better

 

[B+.]

They are no smaller than Apideas which have been successful for decades so you can ignore your sources.

I have 5: they work well in summer but limited insulation meant I found they were vulnerable to late frosts here.. Otherwise good.

I have about 30 Apideas but none of the rainbow nucs.
I find the Apidea require more attention than larger nucs (e.g. MiniPlus) simply because they are so small. They are just as effective but you have to pay closer attention to the space available to the queen (i.e. replacing honey blocked combs with foundation or adding supplementary boxes).

I prefer MiniPlus or full-frame nucs, which are much more flexible, myself

 

[Ian123]

I would add that when nucs are made up and if i add a cell then they are confined for 24-48hrs before i then set them out and the virgins should have emerged by then so pretty much achieves the same thing. I have found if you rush it and put them straight out you often get a lot of bees milling about and some nucs end up stronger than others. Am guessing the confinement and a presence of virgin helps bind them together as a unit and early eve release. Any others found that?

 

[B+.]

I would add that when nucs are made up and if i add a cell then they are confined for 24-48hrs before i then set them out and the virgins should have emerged by then so pretty much achieves the same thing. I have found if you rush it and put them straight out you often get a lot of bees milling about and some nucs end up stronger than others. Am guessing the confinement and a presence of virgin helps bind them together as a unit and early eve release. Any others found that?

As I remember, the recommendation is to confine the bees for 3 days.
When I tried that with cells that were due to emerge, the bees built all sorts of brace comb around them (possibly because I made them up on foundation which left the cell hanging between combs that weren't yet built). Introducing a virgin gave much better results.

 

[Ian123]

Sure we all find our own way, i do try and store a few combs in a safe place but they normaly end up crushed at some point when brittle. So most of mine end up on foundation i use kiellers top bar only and bar the odd 1 sticking comb to walls they work ok for me

 

[madasafish]

As I remember, the recommendation is to confine the bees for 3 days.
When I tried that with cells that were due to emerge, the bees built all sorts of brace comb around them (possibly because I made them up on foundation which left the cell hanging between combs that weren't yet built). Introducing a virgin gave much better results.

I start with empty frames and just a starter strip . NO brace comb.. Confine at end of cool garage for three days..

 

[masterBK]

I use Apideas which are a similar size to Rainbow. I make a scoop to hold 300mls of bees using 2 pint milk bottle calibrated by adding volume of water and making mark with permanent marker. Manufacturers of Apidea suggest 100g of bees but using volume is easier.

 

[Beefriendly]

Something worth mentioning with all these mini-nucs is not to place in direct sunshine if possible. They seem very poor at heat regulation and I find they tend to abscond when overheating.

 

[For want of a better word]

One of the members of our Amm bee breeding group bought a dozen of the Rainbow mating nucs and used then successfully last season.

Nothing is compatible with the Swibines, Apidea or similar, although much the same in size.
I like the hard plastic as makes them easier and apparently more robust to use.

Strip of new foundation gets drawn down quickly.

Big mug full of bees mixed from a number of frames taken from above a qx
Feed and leave in cool and dark for 3 days... spray with water once a day.
Never tried a queen cell as preference is to introduce virgin.
Have even used exotic surrogate bees with the Amm as provide lots of bees early in the season.

Much the same as others really