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favorite queen for grafting so far

23K views 56 replies 19 participants last post by  ThatBe 
#1 · (Edited)
Not just because she is a creature. One of my best hives out of 60 overwintered here in Washington State.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-VW_PMRHCs

I'm doing some grafting, but the hives are still slow to build for splitting into the mating nucs. Just enough of a flow they are not interested in syrup, but not enough for them to put on a lot of growth. Problem is, I want to break up my weaker or slower hives for the nucs and leave my booming hives alone.
Until they start backfilling that is, then momma gets a new spot to live:)

I didn't graft last year until May 19-so I am still early. I have some virgins in mating nucs already though, just not many. I am ready for the season to really get going!

Here is my new mating nuc design for 2013. These standard nucs are divided to hold five half sized deep frames on each side. Each side has it's own inner cover so you can get into just one side easily. No bending! No ants or pests.



Green duct tape has notes about each virgin installed:


Red tape means queenless-no nuc is ever overlooked:


Finisher hive with started cells..also green tape with notes..so I can tell at a glance and don't forget. Some of the hives still have their rachett strap on. This time of year they work great for making sure you have a positive closure on your hive top feeder to avoid a crack where they can get in and drown.



New incubator is working great.


Roller cages on their side have newly hatched and marked queens:


Heres a pic of that queen in the video. Interesting color.


And below is a sister to the queen above..out of the same original swarm queen.


I have no problem with marking my virgins before mating flights-have a great return %.

I did mark two newly hatched virgins with disks..just to see it affects return. If they come back OK, I'll try a few more and let you know.

I hope everyone is having success this spring! Tell us how you are doing.
 
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#8 ·
'She does look Rainer Beer Brown, no? '

hee hee, that's good. I do need to name this line.. Something with Mt Rainier in it and to reflect the genetic diversity and vigor.
What was the indian name for Mt. Rainier?
 
#9 ·
hee hee, that's good. I do need to name this line.. Something with Mt Rainier in it and to reflect the genetic diversity and vigor.
What was the indian name for Mt. Rainier?
Tahoma...reminds me of a truck. Sounds like a fun game...Name My Queen...and a free daughter to the winner!!!
 
#13 ·
I use tb-3 for marking my queens. The paint never fall off or faded.
Lauri, how come the temp is set at 98º? I thought the normal temp
is 90 to 96 for a queen incubator. Does it matter with the 2 degree difference?
 
#17 ·
I use a pressure sensitive AAE Maxbond super glue made for fetching arrows. I cut a toothpick in half. I use the sharp end of a toothpick to pick almost no glue-rub it on her thorax-then use the cut blunt edge of the toothpick, moisten it in my mouth and pick up the disk-place it straight because as soon as it touches, it is permanent.
http://arizonaarchery.com/store/8-max-bond-glue-7-oz-20g.html
I've used it for two years with excellent results. Queens have no reaction to it what so ever.
 
#21 ·
Great vids Lauri. I am going to use screen top feeders like you have.

Do you use them in your cell starters? Do you have a favorite recipe for your cell starters?
 
#22 ·
my cane sugar syrup recipe, besides the water and sugar is about a cup of cider vinegar per 5 gallon bucket and a sprinkle of electrolytes.

My patty recipe is about 6# mann lakes bee pro, 6# brewers yeast, 25#sugar, 1 quart cider vinegar,2- 3 quarts cold water, electrolytes with vitamins and some essential oils or pro health when I have them.
I have to say, the bees are not interested in syrup or patties with natural sources coming in, but some my queen cells so far are not quite the quality I had last year when they took up my protein patty mix. Thank goodness for the incubator. So easy to cull as soon as they hatch and not waste a mating nuc-then evaluate.
 
#51 ·
Lauri. I'm trying to raise a few queens for myself. What do you use for electrolytes, and vitamins when feeding? Also when do you put the cells in the incubator, and what do you look for when culling the new queens after they hatch? How long after they hatch do you put them in a mating nuc, and how do you introduce a virgin to her mating hive? Thanks in advance.
 
#28 ·
Ahhhh. Now I get you. Yes, that is an archery target made of old carpet strips. They glue and compress them, then band them. Stops any arrow and you can pull them out with two fingers. We also use cedar bales and bags filled with shrink wrap plastic for targets.
Notice the swarm trap on top the target? :)
 
#30 ·
How does one tell if a Queen cell is good and for that matter if a "hatched" queen is not good and should be culled (I suspect = killed)?

I am far to new to try this sort of thing of now but am very interested in learning so I may be apply what I have learned as time goes on. The incubator and racks of queen cells in those cage looked a great way to manage queen rearing. As someone with limiting arthritis the nuc boxes on the fence looked very practical...and attractively appealing as well.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and explanations....much appreciated.
 
#31 ·
How does one tell if a Queen cell is good and for that matter if a "hatched" queen is not good and should be culled (I suspect = killed)?


Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and explanations....much appreciated.

They need to be whoppers at birth for a start:)..no shrimps allowed. And I have had some culls this first few batches. Just not fed well enough. I want to see royal jelly packed into the top of the cell when I place them. You should see it right through the cell cup at the top.
No abundance of jelly, I don't even let it hatch.
Now a small capped cell is OK as long as there is royal jelly in it. I've gotten some whopper virgins out of dinky cells.
I'd rather have a small cell with royal jelly than a big cell that was dry on top.


You are very welcome. Ideas are always good to share. That's why Beesource is amazing.
 
#34 ·
Lauri,

I have a swarm queen I picked up a month ago that is very dark like the queen you have in that picture and that swarm has almost two deeps drawn out. She is an absolute laying machine. Before the builders even had a 8" x 6" leaf drawn in the upper deep she had already laid in it and moved back down!! I am going to graft off her on my next round.

I like your pictures!!
 
#36 ·
:) I knew that was an archery target before I read the post! Oops! I'm tipping my cards. I like excelsior bales for crossbow practice, but fletching glue for queen discs? That's a great idea. (sorry about off-topic)

Glad you are having so much success in such a beautiful environment. Are the frames in your "1/2 Nucs" oriented cross-wise like mating nucs, or long-wise like most beehives? Your bees might come up a bit faster if you used full, 5-frame deep nucleus colonies with more bees. I add 3 or 4 scoops (32 oz drink cups) and 3 frames for open mating, and add 2 more frames right after the queen's laying pattern proves out good. They really take off after they get to 5 frames. They are in a 10-frame box in less than a month if the sage blooms well (last year they had to wait for buckwheat, as the sage didn't happen). The best colonies fill their second box during sumac bloom 6 weeks later, if all goes well.

Beeghost - make a few extra grafts off her for me :) I suspect she came from the nuclear lab?
 
#37 ·
I have a question about the 1/2 length frames in the divided deep nucs. Is that set up used solely for the purpose of creating queens or what? If the frames don't fit into a regular sized deep box how does one transition the nuc to a regular deep?
I am certain I have just highlighted my lack of knowledge but asking is how I will learn.

Thank you everyone for your ongoing patience and explanations.

Having never be associated with any form of archery that is alos a foreign world to me:)
 
#38 · (Edited)
WBVC-
5-frame nucleus colonies ("nucs") are the traditional unit for working small, "increaser colonies" into full-strength, 10-frame colonies. They work pretty good like that.

Half- and 1/3- size nucs (usually called "mini-mating nucs" or "Baby nucs") are usually for mating a virgin queen with about 1,500 bees to care and provide for her - it is just a trick that queen breeders use to make LOTS of queens without a lot of bees and honeycomb. The mini- and baby nucs often have mini feeding frames for sugar water in them, too. It usually works, but there can be some mischief, like swarming, doubling up, absconding, freezing to death in late cold fronts, other mishaps.

Virgin queens are usually put in them as sealed queen cells, before they have hatched. They hatch in a few days, grow up for about a week, then go out on their orienting and mating flights (some go more than once), come home for 2 or 3 days, then begin to lay eggs. Breeders leave them in these mini-mating nucs or baby nucs for about 2 to 3 weeks, then check their egg-laying pattern to see if it is profuse and solid. They are then either sold with package bees, given to 5-frame nucleus colonies to survive over winter and sell the next spring, used for re-queening, or kept to populate new colonies for their own purposes.

Of course, there are a LOT of variations on these basic guidelines, this is just a "middle-of-the-road" way of doing it. I doubt any two beekeepers do it alike, let alone queen breeders! My own preference is to cut vertical slots in my 10-frame boxes and add 1/4" hive partitions to make three 3-frame compartments for open-mating. This seems to work out pretty well - I get fair numbers of queens, can use any frame that serves the purpose, and I can add way more than 1,500 bees (a 32 oz drink cup of bees) -- I use 3 or 4 such "scoops", and this allows me to leave them in there for up to a month. They also build up quicker, and are ready to go to 5 frame nuc arrangement sooner than mini nucs do.

(BIG FAT HINT- for your own uses, try the over-wintered nucleus approach - it usually builds up in population MUCH better than package bees the next year!) The baby nucs would take all year to build up if left by themselves (and they still might not even make it through winter)- it is better to add some frames of brood and enough bees to cover the frames - no extra queens, please - and put them into a 4-frame nuc, a 5-frame nuc, or even an 8-frame box and let them increase through the rest of the spring/summer/early fall. Box size-to-bee population is an issue - the bees need to keep a certain amount of volume warm by shivering, and excess volume costs them more honey.

Good idea to ask - I hope this helps. Oh, and archery is very complicated - you put the arrrow point in front, the nock goes on the string, you pull the string back, then you let it go at someone you don't like...hee hee hee maybe you should ask Lauri.;)
 
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