Drone problem!

[TXBEE]

I just started my queens today. I am using a 'cupularve' kit. I can raise about 40 queens at a time. However, I have a problem. For some odd reason, my queens do NOT want to raise drones. I have noticed about 10 or so fully grown drones in the yard of 15 hives that I am rearing queens in. I do have lots of capped drone brood. Is it ok to go ahead and start my queens? Thanks!

[TXBEE]

Oh, one more thing, my plan is to raise the cells in the breeder queen's hive, just when the eggs hatch, and I move them to the cell bar, I will remove the queen, and put her back into the colony when the queen cells are capped. No, I am not going to leave the cells in the queens reach. smile.gif I am planning to move the cells into a second deep over a queen excluder. 2 questions: is there any problem with this, and is there any way I could leave that breeder queen in the colony, because I have to make them over a week behind in brood production. Thanks!

[BjornBee]

Your queens will not mate for another three weeks. Go for it.

[Michael Bush]

I like to see at least a few drones flying and some drone cells in the hives before I start. Preferably a lot of drones.

You queen will emerge about 16 days after you start and the drones need to be a couple of weeks or more old to be sexually mature. If you've got emerging drones, you might do ok. Just capped drones, and I'd wait another week, myself.

As far as the rest, it's the little details that seem to matter. Some people seem to do well with queenright finishers. So far I've had better luck with queenless starter/finishers. But I'm going to try one batch with queenright finisher again this year, I think, and see how it goes.

[tecumseh]

michael bush adds:
I like to see at least a few drones flying and some drone cells in the hives before I start. Preferably a lot of drones.

tecumseh sezs:
my thinking also. newly hatched drones will not get the job done. here I have already had my first call for swarm collection so I would not be surprised if there is not a lot more drones out there than you might suspect.

[BjornBee]

Lots of capped drone brood. Drone alrady in your hives. Texas weather. Reports of swarms in texas already. Up to three weeks till the queens will mate. I would be queen rearing now....

[tecumseh]

bjorn adds:
I would be queen rearing now....

tecumseh sighs:
some of us are bjorn.

[BjornBee]

tecumseh, Do you need a break? "tecumseh sighs"....I would think your taking someone else's comments way to personal, or are being a little dramatic. I wonder which one...oh well,....sigh....

MB says wait a week. You in part, comment in agreement. And further suggest (waiting) by suggesting that the drones may not get the job done. And that you would like to see more of them. Now you say some are already raising queens. All I did was back up my original comment with some specifics and details that I did not mention on my first post. Something wrong with this?

I woulds like to add to my last post as reasons why TXBEE should start now...as mentioned by tecumseh in no direct qoute...Others are already raising queens! I would feel comfortable starting now.

All clear now????

[TXBEE]

Ok! Thanks. I uh, guess I may have an answer..... smile.gif I looked back into my hives, and I did see a few drones around, but not the amount that I would need. However, it was a nice day, so there could have been lots outside the hives. Thanks!

[Ross]

TXBEE, you have plenty of drones now. I have had drones here since January, although the drone rearing is really picking up now.

[Jim Williamson]

Tuesday, I shook an entire two-deep hive through an excluder in order to find the queen. I was amazed at the number of drones I found.

[BjornBee]

>Tuesday, I shook an entire two-deep hive through an excluder

I bet that screwed up the comb... :rolleyes:

[TXBEE]

Yeah jim, but you are in Rome! smile.gif I just cannot get the queens to lay in my jenter-like-kit. I don't know what I'll do!

[wayacoyote]

I'm hoping to actually rear queens Befor my own hive rears drones as a way of bringing in genetics from colonies who get started earlier than my own stock.

Then I got to thinking: if not enough drones are out there, she won't mate very well and may be a poor producer dispite my efforts.

Waya

[King bee apiary]

If it's drones you want add a drone frame to each hive,let a few frames hatch at the first of the year then use the frames as a varroa trap and freeze them once in awhile and kill/count the mites...dual purpose type thing..
As far as the jenter type queen frame I use one from Mann Lake and have had no luck for the last 2 years,they would not even draw it out.Tried in a very strong hive,tried in a couple of packaged (new) hives because they build wax so well and they seem to avoid it completely..All I can tell ya is good luck..

[Michael Bush]

>As far as the jenter type queen frame I use one from Mann Lake and have had no luck for the last 2 years,they would not even draw it out.

They don't need to draw it. The queen just needs to lay in it. I use a Jenter all the time with no problems.

[Ross]

Yep, I transferred my larva last night. They really didn't draw it at all. You just need a queen that is a reliable layer. Use a hive that has wall to wall brood, you know she's laying.

[TXBEE]

I tried using a queen that has 8-9 frames of brood, but she refused to lay. So, I went with my second best queen, and she won't lay at all either! They must be sisters.

[Michael Bush]

You have to let the bees have the box for a few days to polish it. The queen won't like laying in unpolished plastic.

[TXBEE]

That could be my problem, I only let them polish it for about 24 hours. We are having some cold weather come in tomorrw, so it may be a while before I can get back in.

[Ross]

I put my frame in for 2 days before I introduced the queen. It was full of bees an hour after I put it in. I put it between two frames of brood.

[Michael Bush]

Yes, I always put it in the middle of some open brood.