Taking queen cells

[bpmurray]

Tomorrow I plan on removing all but one QC in a Q- hive. I want to use them in apideas, to make sure I have queens - I've had such bad luck with them this year, probably because of the weather, but I want to be certain that I have this insurance in place.

Anyway, I have 4 apideas, so I'll put the best 4 of the 7 I remove (there are 8) and put them in the mating hives, fitting down into the round gap between frames. However, I'll do this before adding the nurse bees - it's a question of practicalities that it has to be this way. The nurse bees will be about 500m away - I'll have to bring the QCs down with me. I'm a little concerned that it will be too cold for the cells - how should I transport them? I was thinking of wrapping them in kitchen roll and putting them under the suit - that should probably be warm enough for the 10mins or so before the nurses join her. I also worry a bit about these - if they're damp, will they be less interested in keeping he cell warm?

 

[einsteinagogo]

I usually do, it the other way round, add bees first for 3 days, with fondant, so they can draw out the "frames", and then add QCs.

but if using bees from the same hive as the QC, I don't do this, I just put nurse bees from bb (excluding drones), or from supers...in a bucket, kick bucket, and then spray with water, and add 300 ml of bees.

I think they will be warm enough.... I've also learnt to use tin foil (from this forum) to wrap around the QC, to stop them tearing it down, or a spiral QC protector.

 

[bpmurray]

I can't find that foil post - do you have a link or an explanation, please.

 

[einsteinagogo]

I can't find that foil post - do you have a link or an explanation, please.

wrap some foil around the qc (the sides), and make sure it's overlapped and flat, if they get an edge, they could eat it.

this is the thread

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33451

if you scroll down, you will see the qc, wrapped in foil

 

[dexter's shed]

when transporting qc I just put them in my pocket

 

[REDWOOD]

And hope she doesn't emerge

 

[bpmurray]

That looks straightforward enough - thanks for the info. I think I'll transport the cells in a plastic box (lined with kitchen roll to prevent knocking) rather than risk a pocket hatchery.

 

[jonnybeegood]

when transporting qc I just put them in my pocket

Too easy to press against something & squish her, best in a small box or pouch out of the way.

 

[bpmurray]

Wow - amazing timing! One of the QCs had already hatched, and two more have hatched since (under my control) so they're in butler cages. I think I'll wait a little while to see if the others hatch - it seems too close to just drop them into the apidea.

Edit: Four have hatched now, one of which killed one of the others, so I have 3 queens in butler cages for the apideas, and three cells I'm not quite sure what to do with - one will go into my fourth apidea, and I think another into a Q- hive. And one available for whatever.

 

[REDWOOD]

Roll a bit of bubble wrap around your thumb and secure the end with cellotape will make a perfect home for a QC

 

[dexter's shed]

Too easy to press against something & squish her, best in a small box or pouch out of the way.

sorry, I thought it would be obvious that I meant in a queen box in my pocket, obviously not though

 

[bpmurray]

I actually used a small tupperware box with kitchen roll to hold them safely. It worked very well.

 

[Karsal]

Well I had every hope today that the sealed queen cells that I saw exactly two weeks ago in one of my hives would have hatched and I would have a new queen from the two I had left on the one frame.
Instead I had seven Queen cells all capped on one frame. No eggs or a queen present.
Cut five cells from the comb and left two. Put the queen cells on a new frame of foundation on top of the adjacent hive while I put the top back on the first hive. I turned around to pick the queen cells up and a queen had emerged from a cell.
She fell to the floor and disappeared in the grass. As I looked at the remaining queen cells two more queens emerged and ran down the hive and onto the hive stand where I lost them. The remaining two un-hatched cells I placed in two new nuclei with bees so will await the results in several weeks time.

 

[Erichalfbee]

OH dear......
The bees actually hold the virgins in their cells so that they can cast sequentially.
The beekeeper, opening up often disturbs this.
It's a pity all of them didn't get to remain in the original hive then, suddenly being flooded with virgin queens, the bees would have sorted themselves out without further swarming.

 

[bpmurray]

OH dear......
The bees actually hold the virgins in their cells so that they can cast sequentially.
The beekeeper, opening up often disturbs this.
It's a pity all of them didn't get to remain in the original hive then, suddenly being flooded with virgin queens, the bees would have sorted themselves out without further swarming.

I took them because I was afraid of swarming, assuming that 8 QCs = swarm and a few cast swarms.

 

[B+.]

I took them because I was afraid of swarming, assuming that 8 QCs = swarm and a few cast swarms.

I incubate queen cells at 35degrees C and 50% humidity which is the theoretically ideal conditions for queen cells. Even so, some queens do not emerge (they die in the larval stage but the colony still seals them). You should not assume that every cell will emerge in the colony either. You could candle them with a bright light though

 

[Finman]

.
When you take queens from swarming hive, you take an insurance that you have swarms next year.

That about ' afraid of swarming'