View Full Version : Didn't catch a rogue cell in both cell builders
Michael Bush
06-02-2006, 09:05 PM
It's bad enough I didn't catch it in one, but I didn't catch them in either. Obviously they raised a queen that I missed and all the queen cells that were going into mating nucs tomorrow, destroyed AND all the queen cells I transfered into cell cups on Wednesday destroyed as well. Two weeks worth of queens gone...
wayacoyote
06-02-2006, 09:09 PM
Sorry to hear that, Michael.
Even the greatest have their off days. I should know, you should have seen me yesterday....
Waya
FordGuy
06-02-2006, 10:03 PM
Mr. Bush, how were they destroyed? I had a frame with 6 reproductive cells in an other wise great hive. I removed it. I made 6 nucs queenless. I placed the frame in one nuc. checked daily. when one queen emerged, I took frame out and placed in second queenless nuc, waited on her to emerge. she did. frame is now in third quenles snuc. So I was just hopping this frame around in queenless nucs. Have I just been lucky or is it a function of daily checks to get cells out before emerged queen can destroy them? thanks.
Michael Bush
06-03-2006, 09:41 AM
>Mr. Bush, how were they destroyed?
Looked just like this:
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/MissedQueenCell.JPG
>I had a frame with 6 reproductive cells in an other wise great hive. I removed it. I made 6 nucs queenless. I placed the frame in one nuc. checked daily. when one queen emerged, I took frame out and placed in second queenless nuc, waited on her to emerge. she did. frame is now in third quenles snuc. So I was just hopping this frame around in queenless nucs. Have I just been lucky or is it a function of daily checks to get cells out before emerged queen can destroy them?
You've been very lucky. Usually the first queen out kills all the rest and usually more than one a day emerges.
Jeffrey Todd
06-04-2006, 12:29 AM
Wow, Michael, sorry about all those beautiful queens you would have had. Just yesterday I was reading my ABC XYZ and they had an almost identical picture from the same unlucky circumstance. Have you seen it?
Here's to the next batch; may they be your best ever!
It is not a good feeling. I have done it as well. It is one reason I built an incubator. It can't happen in there! I guess technically it could, if you did not figure out the emergenece day. I usually put cages on them two days before anyway. Usually they hatch out later anyway.
That's why I'm going to use the Cloak method from now on. I put the queen under the Cloak board a week before I want to make queens so the upper boxes only have capped brood when I want to start cells.
D. Murrell
06-06-2006, 08:42 AM
Hi Guys,
Sorry to hear of this failure, Michael. It will work prefectly next time.
It's always a good idea to check all frames for spurious queen cells regardless of the methods used. I've had bees relocate an egg and start queen cells in the most unexpected places, even on the back side of a honey frame next to the hive wall.
It usually happens after several batches of cells are grafted. Could the bees become frustrated with their failure to rear queens in the broodnest and try elsewhere?
In their rush to get a queen, they often choose an older larva which will hatch about two days earlier than the grafts.
Frames should also be checked when using the Cloake board. Bees will raise supercedure cells in brood areas of the hive that suddenly lack the queens physical presence(brood above the open Cloake board). When a virgin hatches there, she will not only destroy the grafted cells. But will also go downstairs and kill the hive's queen.
Regards
Dennis
[ June 06, 2006, 09:59 AM: Message edited by: B Wrangler ]
Michael Bush
06-06-2006, 11:07 AM
>It usually happens after several batches of cells are grafted. Could the bees become frustrated with their failure to rear queens in the broodnest and try elsewhere?
It was the third batch of cells for that hive...
Welcome to the real world!