Introducing virgins

[olympic]

I want to ask about introducing virgins queens to mating nucs. What is the best procedure?

[BeeCurious]

I want to ask about introducing virgins queens to mating nucs. What is the best procedure?

Bump

I ran across this and was surprised that it didn't receive any reply...

[sqkcrk]

I introduce virgin queens into queenless nucs via queen cells. It works well and probably better than mated queens. I have had higher success rates w/ the use of cells. They are less expensive, but you have some time when a queen isn't laying.

[camero7]

I use ammonium nitrate to introduce virgins into my nucs. I get about 70% success rate.

[cg3]

I use ammonium nitrate

Please explain.

[camero7]

Pretty good thread with explanation here:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...light=ammonium

[odfrank]

I did dozens of mean hives in the '70s using this method, works great. I now do most of my bee work in shirt sleeves.


Ammonium nitrate - Get a few table spoons from a local wholesale nursery or farmer. Have a new caged queen, division screen and drone guard (entrance queen excluder) ready. Light the smoker, drop in a table spoon of ammonium nitrate, don't inhale the smoke as it will blast out of the smoker. Fumigate the hive with the blasting smoke. The bees will fall unconscious. Shake them onto a sheet in front of the hive. Place all the brood in the upper brood chamber. They will awake from their stupor and walk back into the hive, the queen being found on the entrance excluder. Divide the hive introducing the new queen above the division screen into the box containing the brood. These mean bees will kill the new queen if you try a direct introduction. The division screens sends the old mean bees back to the box down below, young bees above to accept the new queen. Either squish the old queen, or mark her and run her back into the bottom. You will then have to find her and squish her after the new queen up above is accepted, then merging the boxes.

[Myron Denny]

Ammonium Nitrate - We used ammonium nitrate for the nitrogen it contained in crop production for years with no problems. Most all of the fertilizer warehouses carried it. Then along came Timothy McVey and blew up the Alfred P. Murrah (Federal Building in OKC). Ammonium Nitrate is a very explosive material, you need to be advised that if handled improperly it can be disastrous. I am very much surprised that this has not been pointed out!

[camero7]

ammonium nitrate is only dangerous if ignited with pressure and intense heat. It is used in fireworks all the time and is NOT dangerous if you put a couple spoon fulls of it in a smoker.
http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/...mbs-work-.html