Using the Cupkit kit.

[BKF Admin]

So I dusted down my Cupkit kit and gave it a clean adding 110 new cell cups,melted a little wax and brushed it over the box to give the bees something to help polish the cells out with.

Placed the kit in an empty drawn out frame for 24 hours before introducing the queen.

Went back 24 hours later to pop her majesty in only to find the bees had done a great job of filling the kit with honey.

Now were did I put that grafting tool!

 

[Poly Hive]

We are sitting at 6 degrees. I will not be blowing off the dust from my grafting tool for another month me thinks.

PH

 

[grizzly]

LOL Quality

 

[MJBee]

My Jenter kit arrived today - I'm like a kid at Christmas -
Admin I see in your post that you added over 100 cups - is that many necessary? From your experience to get a full frame of say 20 cells how many cups would you offer the queen? Also where did you brush the wax.
The instructions from Thornes are pretty basic - I had to Google to find out what went where
My target this season is two batches of up to 10 viable queens, the first to get a friend restarted and expand my 4 colonies to 8. The second for use in case of problems/overwinter in 5 frame Nucs.
Regards Mike

 

[BKF Admin]

My Jenter kit arrived today - I'm like a kid at Christmas -
Admin I see in your post that you added over 100 cups - is that many necessary? From your experience to get a full frame of say 20 cells how many cups would you offer the queen? Also where did you brush the wax.
The instructions from Thornes are pretty basic - I had to Google to find out what went where
My target this season is two batches of up to 10 viable queens, the first to get a friend restarted and expand my 4 colonies to 8. The second for use in case of problems/overwinter in 5 frame Nucs.
Regards Mike

I put all the cups in just incase she ended up laying eggs in every hole except the ones with cups in.

I melted a little wax and brushed a couple of dozen cell cups with a kids paintbrush in the centre to get the bees cleaning the cups for her.

What do you plan to do with the cups when filled,are you going to make Nucs up or put them in a queenright hive ?

 

[Poly Hive]

Heads up.

she has been known to lay up every cell bar the cups.

It pays to know how to use a grafting tool. Imagine.......

After all the careful timing you see the dreaded result. Every cell laid bar the ones you want........what to do? Simple.

Wait three days and graft.

PH

 

[BKF Admin]

I went back today and grafted 10 cups by hand (ok not by hand,I used the graft tool instead)selecting the 10 I wanted.

I have put them on a cell bar in a queenless Nuc I made a few days ago.

I will check in a few days to see if any have been excepted.

 

[MJBee]

Thanks PH and Admin, I have introduced the Jenter cage all cups in place My cell raising colony is ready - queen removed safely to a nuc. I plan to cage the queen in the Jenter on Thursday -is 48 hours enough to get the cage accepted?
First time queen rearing is scary but exciting at the same time.
Regards Mike

 

[BKF Admin]

Could you do 24 hours ? thats what some books say,You may find they start to draw out the face if left longer,not the end of the world but a pain to clean off just so you can get the QE fitted.

 

[burch]

is it not easier to split a colony into 2 leaving the queen in the original brood box and placing 5 frames including stores/pollen/pupi into a new brood box, thus the new brood box producing a new queen.

 

[BKF Admin]

is it not easier to split a colony into 2 leaving the queen in the original brood box and placing 5 frames including stores/pollen/pupi into a new brood box, thus the new brood box producing a new queen.

That would be an Emergency queen,she would not lay as well and for as long as a nice fat grafted queen.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Also Burch these methods are for producing many Queens,not just one as a rule.

 

[Poly Hive]

Provided the kit is laid up then yes by all means move it into the queenless broodless box which will of course treat the larvae as Queens from the cracking of the eggs.

PH

 

[MJBee]

Yes you could do that but the new queen produced would be an "emergency" queen - general consensus of opinion says not as good as a Jenter/Grafted queen. Also that method just doubles your hive, I am HOPING to produce up to 10 mated queens. To get them off to a good start the "starting" colony needs to have lots of bees (to tend and nurture the queen cells) and be queenless.
Regards Mike

 

[MJBee]

Sorry folks, jumped in with my fivepennyworth without reading page 2. Posts 11, 12, 13 make my reply redundant
Mike

 

[Poly Hive]

Just a heads up here.

The starting box of bees is NOT a colony. That word implies a fully functioning organisation at work.

A starter box should comprise 7 or 8 frames of bees which have been pre filtered to be just bees and young ones at that.

How? Queen excluder.

The box should be well fed, have a pollen comb and a stores comb and a space for the grafts so the bees can cluster there ready. They should know that they are utterly hopeless, as in NO BROOD AT ALL.

Then give them your grafts and give them a decent number. It's a waste of time grafting eggs as how do you know that egg will even hatch?

Graft the smallest larvae you can see and if you can't then buy a magnifying glass or pay some serous money to the opticians.

PH

 

[MJBee]

Thanks PH. Wrong terminology from me. The "starter" hive I plan to use is the one where the queen got into the super and I found 10 frames of sealed worker brood. The super was given on 20 March so the workers will begin emerging tomorrow. Because the queen was in the super all the brood in the brood box has already emerged. I have removed the queen to a nuc so they are hopelessly queenless and should be ready for a frame of cups which is scheduled for 13 April. Any comments/advice gratefully received
Regards Mike

 

[Poly Hive]

I would offer them a test frame to make SURE that they really are as queenless as you think they are.

Check my sig line...LOL

PH

 

[Heather]

Today, have just piled a load of nurse bees into a Nuc with no brood. Some syrup and pollen. Have made my own queen cups onto a bar frame and will graft 1 day larvae tomorrow, and then introduce to the (hopefully) anxious bees so they can make me some queens. It is the first time i have had 'a go' so will keep you posted
Heather

 

[BKF Admin]

Nice one Heather,I look forward to reading how it goes,I think the weather should be a bit better mid afternoon with a nice weekend to follow.

What are you doing for queen cups ?

p.s well done and thank you Poly Hive (Thats 500 posts you have made)!