Top Tips for CupKit?

[beeboybee]

Just made up a CupKit to venture into the unknown with a bit of Queen rearing!
Any Top Tips for using it. I am on 14 x 12 frames.
should i make a frame up similar to a dummy Board but use the CupKit in the centre?

on my reading list tonight is to get my head around why/how the bee's don't swarm when the new Qcells are capped.

 

[masterBK]

Possibly a bit of an overkill using Cupkit with three hives (as the box holds 110 cells). Best to get the box conditioned by the workers for several days before you put the queen in. Even then she often takes a day before she starts laying so using the fondant release mechanism might let her out too early. Make sure when you put the excluder front on so hat it fits snugly as some queens escape through the slits at the sides. Check for eggs after a couple of days and if present let her out. I use long nosed pliers to remove the brown cell plugs (you can see if there is royal jelly present through the back of the plug). Don't hang about when you fit the cells into the plug holders etc as the larvae can dry out ( a damp flannel over the ones already done helps). You can transfer at the 3 day egg stage and still get 70% success. I use cloake board system so one colony used as queenless starter and queen right finisher as well as move bars of ten at 3 day larval stage to Demarree tops to finish off.

 

[beeboybee]

i have bought the CupKit currently on offer from Thornes, it holds 32 cells, they are purple cups rather than the usual brown, i presume they are the same size though as the holders and hair curlers look the same size.
Yep i only want a few queens thought i might try making up 2 Nucs for winter,
Thank again Master Bk i look forward to reading you Cupkit Notes

 

[Little John]

i have bought the CupKit currently on offer from Thornes, it holds 32 cells, they are purple cups rather than the usual brown, i presume they are the same size though as the holders and hair curlers look the same size.

Interchangeable with brown cups, different colour as not made by Nicotplas.

There's a video about using the Cupkit system on the DC Honeybees' site. [ame="www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxV0V9f3NB8"]DC Honeybees TV Making Queens with Queen Rearing Kit, 2nd Try - YouTube[/ame]

 

[MuswellMetro]

Interchangeable with brown cups, different colour as not made by Nicotplas.

There's a video about using the Cupkit system on the DC Honeybees' site. DC Honeybees TV Making Queens with Queen Rearing Kit, 2nd Try - YouTube

yes agreee interchanaglble but not exactly the same, the purple cup are 1mm shorter externally but the same internally, assume it is a copyright issue

the thornes 25 cell is ideal for a few Queens and i intend to try the same as MasterB's method of cloak board and demaree

 

[MuswellMetro]

comparison between cups

 

[beeboybee]

was waiting patiently for the postman today but still no sign of my thrones parcel..... Muswel could you outline the Cloakboard technique?

 

[MuswellMetro]

hmmm how best to describe it

The the cloake is a split board or floor but with a queen excluder instead of varroa mesh and it hasa removable metal blocking tray (like a varroa board), that fits under the QE and blocks it off

so phase 1) with tray out it, entrance block closed it is a QE and phase 2) with entrance block open , Tray in, it is a solid floor or split board

now it is better explained in the attached pdf rather than my variation becasue i combine two normal colonies in a demare with top entrance then use a cloake board to close off the top boxand open a 180 bottom entrance

 

[MuswellMetro]

hmmm how best to describe it

The the cloake is a split board or floor but with a queen excluder instead of varroa mesh and it hasa removable metal blocking tray (like a varroa board), that fits under the QE and blocks it off

so phase 1) with tray out , entrance block closed it is an QE and phase 2) with entrance block open , Tray in, it is a solid floor or split board

now it is better explained in the attached pdf rather than my variation becasue i will combine two normal colonies in a demare with top entrance then use a cloake board to close off the top box and open a temp bottom entrance

 

[alanf]

...so phase 1) with tray out , entrance block closed it is an QE and phase 2) with entrance block open , Tray in, it is a solid floor or split board

The board could be a convenient bit of kit. There's a longer explanation of the theory in Woodward's queen rearing book. If you want to try the ideas without the specialised board a crown board with an entrance cut in the side and something to cover the holes plus a normal queen excluder work quite well although there's more lifting involved.

 

[masterBK]

Cupkit Update. Queen went into box last sunday afternoon and released Tuesday morning. On Wednesday I was hoping to find one day old larvae but found all 110 cell cups laid up but just eggs present (some with more than one egg in). Unable to come back thursday so set up two cell carrying frames using 20 cell cups each with the presumably 3 day old eggs. At the hive it took less than 5 minutes to fit 40 cell cups into the holders. I could never graft that fast and with cupkit no need to carry the frame off to the car etc and look for larvae at the right age with magnifying visor and also with grafting withoutlots of practise you risk damaging them during the transfer or dehydrating them. Put a frame of 20 cells with eggs into each of two cloake board colonies. Just (friday) been down the apiary to check how thinbgs were going on and got a pleasant surprise. In one colony 17 out of 20 and in the other 19 out of 20 cells containing the eggs accepted and all charged with lots of glistening royal jelly and developing larvae. This acceptance/conversion rate is as good as that obtained using one day old larvae. .

 

[betterbee]

thanks for all the cupkit info.Do you leave the queen excluder on cupkit after releasing the queen,had all box laid up ,released queen took off queen excluder 3 days later all eggs gone ?

 

[beeboybee]

Parcel arrived, going to get frame assembled & Brood frame to hold the cup kit plastic box.
will photo all of my stages & try and keep a diary of this experiment for others to look at...

have a good weekend

 

[masterBK]

The queen is released by simply taking the white plug out of the front cover and she finds her own way out. The front excluder cover is left in place.

Alternatively you can fill a compartment at the rear with fondant and remove the white plug at the back.The workers eat the fondant and queen exits through the "hole" at the back.
Not sure why the workers would eat the eggs (I have never had that happen) unless they were not viable or there was no nectar/pollen coming in.

 

[betterbee]

Slipped up no nectar comming in should have fed thunder and lightning +hail stones during queens confinement,trying again thanks for reply

 

[Little John]

yes agreee interchanaglble but not exactly the same, the purple cup are 1mm shorter externally but the same internally, assume it is a copyright issue

Oh, thanks for that - appreciated - I haven't seen the purple cells myself, first hand - was just reporting what Th****s had told me in response to an email enquiry I made.

Edit:
Just seen your photo - useful - thanks.

 

[Little John]

The board could be a convenient bit of kit. There's a longer explanation of the theory in Woodward's queen rearing book. If you want to try the ideas without the specialised board a crown board with an entrance cut in the side and something to cover the holes plus a normal queen excluder work quite well although there's more lifting involved.

Or simply place a plastic sheet (non-disposable carrier bag, or similar) over the top of a Q/X for 24 hrs.

 

[Little John]

on my reading list tonight is to get my head around why/how the bee's don't swarm when the new Qcells are capped.

Because it's a classic case of the logical fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc ("after this, therefore because of this"):

Q/Cells are not the cause of swarming, they are sometimes created as a consequence of the desire to swarm.
And at other times because the queen is missing, or beginning to fail - which, as with the over-crowding which causes swarming, creates a reduction in the level of 'queen substance' (mix of pheromones) being passed around the hive. So - provided the level of these pheromones is kept at an adequate level, there's no impetus to swarm ... or at least, so sayeth the theory.