What is the best way to transport freshly harvested queen cells for a couple hour car ride? Would wrapping them in a paper towel and putting them in an egg carton be sufficient (this was suggested as adequate)?
I heard about a fellow who transported a queen cell by motorcycle, if I remember correctly he spent a number of hours on the road. This fellow kept the cell warm by taping it directly to his chest in the natural vertical position. The man's body provided warmth for the cell that was close to a hive environment, after placing it in his hive he reported that the queen emerged and was mated successfully.
Nothing better than a good old fashioned hot water bottle on the bottom of a cooler (those large flat sided juice bottles work great) and top them with an appropriate sized container lined with a soft cloth to hold your cells. A folded towel to take up the remaining air space is also a nice touch, throw it in the dryer for a few minutes if need be.
get some soft foam like the egg crate foam and put it in a cardboard box,, like a cigar box,, cut a hole for each cell,, place them in it vertically,, and have a small layer of soft foam to cover,, then close the box,, put in cab of truck keep it warm,,
I would put the queens cells in roller cages and floral oasis so they stay upright.
Put a small hand warmer in the bottom of an insulated lunch box. Open the hand warmer and activate it an hour before before you place the queen cells in the box. Place a folded cloth or rag over the hand warmer to regulate the heat. Check the temp to be sure it is not too hot (Not Over 95 degrees) You want it to be reasonably warm and not cook them)
Put your roller cages, now inserted into the oasis in the lunch box and wedge another rag or somethng in next to them to keep them upright and stable. Close the lid totally or partially, depending on the temp you want to establish.
Heres a photo of what I mean, This is in my chicken incubator where I hatch out my queen cells.
I get my oasis at the dollar store, but I any florest will have it, maybe even Safeway.
(In the incubator you see roller cages in the back, on their sides with newly hatched queens.)
I like the idea of taping them on my chest, LOL My husband would die laughing!
Some nice suggestions here. I should point out that my method is to be used only when cells are within 24 hours of hatching, before that time, yes, it is best to transport them iin their normal vertical position.
My mating yard is only 4 miles from my cell building yard. I Brush the bees off the cell bar frames and the ripe cells and carry them vertically in nuc box on the front seat of my car...heater on. When my mating yard was in New York state, the trip took more than an hour, and I carried them the same way.
A little more specifics. Will be getting some ripe queen cells from Purdue which is about 2-2.5 hours away. In the past we have just wrapped the cells in paper towels and placed them in styrofoam egg cartons in the upright position and then driven them back in a warm car. Technician at Purdue said he has used this method and they would be fine. Some of the beeks getting the cells had poor takes and we are wondering if they might have been damaged during transport.
I guess my best recommendation is just to err on the side of caution. Keep them warm (lower 90's are ideal but a bit cooler won't hurt ripe cells), handle them gently and get them in promptly. That's about all you can do. Getting blamed for poor takes just kind of comes with the territory if you are dealing with cells.
Styrofoam vial holders from labs also are quite convenient. We used them with much success.
Have also put a frame of cells in a nuc box and been just fine. No bees attached.
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