Two queen colonies

[Fusion_power]

80 000 bees. You have 10 langstroth boxes in pile.

Some problems in life I can solve. This is one of them. Of course, by using square shallow supers, I think I can get the job done with maybe 7 boxes instead of 10.

I've got as much money as I want or can spend. It does not mean much to have more. I've got good friends and 4 adult children. They are a better measure of how rich I am than having more money.

One additional benefit of a 2 queen system is that unproductive colonies are virtually eliminated. If one queen fails, off her and take out the divider and run as a single queen colony for a few months.

 

[Eyeman]

One additional benefit of a 2 queen system is that unproductive colonies are virtually eliminated. If one queen fails, off her and take out the divider and run as a single queen colony for a few months.

Why don't you try out your 2 queen system and report back to us in 12 months.
You'll find out there might be a big difference between theory and practice!

 

[B+.]

Why don't you try out your 2 queen system and report back to us in 12 months.
You'll find out there might be a big difference between theory and practice!

Exactly what I was thinking Eyeman. This has the ring of someone who is "thinking aloud" rather than having done it.

 

[Fusion_power]

I've done it before, the only difference is that I am doing a horizontal 2 queen instead of vertical. I hated running Langstroth boxes with one queen above the other. I only ran the hives as 2 queen in the spring and kept a single colony the rest of the year.

 

[B+.]

I've done it before, the only difference is that I am doing a horizontal 2 queen instead of vertical. I hated running Langstroth boxes with one queen above the other. I only ran the hives as 2 queen in the spring and kept a single colony the rest of the year.

I'm a little confused. You talk about breeding but mess about with all of these systems whose purpose can only be intended to make up for the defficiencies of the stock.
Why?
Surely, a good queen would solve all your problems. You can't measure much of anything doing it this way.

 

[Finman]

I've done it before, the only difference is that I am doing a horizontal 2 queen instead of vertical. I hated running Langstroth boxes with one queen above the other. I only ran the hives as 2 queen in the spring and kept a single colony the rest of the year.

You hate langstroth. You generate such problems to yourself, which actually does not exist.

And others should live with your fairytales.

Just do those 2 queen hives, live with them some years and tell then, what happened.

And those horizontal hives. No REAL beekeeper keep horizontal hives. They are toys.

Finland was full of horizontal hives 50 years ago, and they are all burned now.

Get poly langstroth hives, and you solve some problems. Cold starving and better brooding in spring. Then you do not need any more 2 queen's. In summer poly protects from heat.
.

 

[Finman]

Some problems in life I can solve. This is one of them. .

No you don't.

You do not have such queens which lay 2000 eggs. 1000 may be near truth.

Then you quess 4000 eggs in a day. There are no such queens in this planet.

If you have such queens, how in heck you dream about 2 queen hives.

.
.

 

[user 6228]

OK a wooden national brood box can have 2 five frame wooden nucs on top without too much problem. This is what is on the market now. When it comes to poly you would be hard pressed to find a poly nuc with a detachable floor that would sit on top of a poly brood and fit. Nothing stopping you trying the nucs underneath, but some of the poly boxes interlock making it difficult to fit. The other way of doing it is to build it from scratch. The only advantage is that you can utilise what is on the market made of wood for those without very good diy skills. But otherwise, you can make your own design using wood or poly.

So we have two effect hypotheses - heat loss reduction per colony and worker resource balancing. Has anyone quantified (in a reseanable study) the relative magnitude of these two effects?

 

[Finman]

This is so funny! A 20 hive owner telling a 700 hive owner to keep spare hives!

He asked advice, when virgin is not mated. Nothing funny in it. Of course he can buy mated queens from Hawaij.

You always advice me that Britain has different climate. I see it myself when I look Milton Keynes forecast.

 

[Anduril]

He asked advice. Nothing funny in it.

He made a statement, he didn't ask a question.

 

[Finman]

He made a statement, he didn't ask a question.

You just told that there are no stupid questions. And there are not stupid answers.

Keep your line.

Finnish habit is that we do not answer, when somebody asks, but we answer even if no one ask.

 

[Finman]

I'm a little confused. You talk about breeding but mess about with all of these systems whose purpose can only be intended to make up for the defficiencies of the stock.
Why?
Surely, a good queen would solve all your problems. You can't measure much of anything doing it this way.

He has 20 hives. I am afraid that his statistican evaluation will be worthless.
And he spend his quality time in this forum instead that he makes those horizontal hives.

Statistically 20 pieces is minimum number to make research. From where he gets comparative hives? We wait.

 

[Anduril]

You just told that there are no stupid questions. And there are not stupid answers.

Keep your line.

Finnish habit is that we do not answer, when somebody asks, but we answer even if no one ask.

I talk to myself and my other self answers well you did say the Welsh were mad

 

[Finman]

I talk to myself and my other self answers

Every of us has some fobia.
.

 

[Anduril]

So we have two effect hypotheses - heat loss reduction per colony and worker resource balancing. Has anyone quantified (in a reseanable study) the relative magnitude of these two effects?

Have a look at these, Michael Palmer on utube.
Queen Rearing in the Sustainable Apiary
beemeetingpalmer04012016
Different to Fusion Power.

 

[Anduril]

Every of us has some fobia.
.

I preferred the unedited version.

 

[Finman]

I preferred the unedited version.

Life changes, I mean world changes

 

[Fusion_power]

I'm a little confused. You talk about breeding but mess about with all of these systems whose purpose can only be intended to make up for the defficiencies of the stock.
Why?

I've had 47 years to ask questions and look for answers. It has been 20 odd years since I ran 2 queen colonies. I've been busy working on mite resistant bees for the last 12 years. Now I want to take the best parts of the two queen system and combine it with mite resistant bees. Think long term. What would you do with nearly 50 years of beekeeping?

 

[Finman]

I've had 47 years to ask questions and look for answers. It has been 20 odd years since I ran 2 queen colonies. I've been busy working on mite resistant bees for the last 12 years. Now I want to take the best parts of the two queen system and combine it with mite resistant bees. Think long term. What would you do with nearly 50 years of beekeeping?

You do those 2 Queen colonies. We cannot help you. And buy polyhives.
.
You have enough much good plans, like to see under microscope the special scent organs in bees' antenna.

You must split time to move hives. Your future hives need 3 fold amount nectar from pastures, and recent pastures are not enough.

Note that you will have double size colonies next summer.
.

 

[Fusion_power]

Then you guess 4000 eggs in a day. There are no such queens in this planet. If you have such queens, how in heck you dream about 2 queen hives.

I've had 18 frames of brood in a colony with a single queen. 14 of them were pretty good solid frames of brood, 4 of them were partial frames. My best estimate came to about 80,000 cells of brood in Langstroth size frames. Do the math and it works out to about 3800 eggs laid daily for at least 3 weeks. So finman, why is it that you have the strongest colonies on the planet, yet you have never seen 18 frames of brood from a single queen?