I should say the bees were not in the right mood, plus they might have some kind of virus problems.
Usual size of a starter, in literature, is 3 kg (of bees), you can put it in 5 frame box if it has enough ventilation holes and is about 5 cm higher than the frames you use, put in shade of cellar. It is too big for a hobbyist.
If you wish to use 5 frame box, here is my recepy:
- take 3 frames from honeybox full of bees
- shake the bees of 3 open brood frames (no queen!), use brush if there is a flow
- put in one pollen frame, sprinkle some water on it
wait 4 hours
make the grafts
put the transfered larvae in the middle of the box and the pollen frame nex to it
max 15 larvae (one frame with Nicot system)
one cell builder can take care of these, but no more
Usual size of a starter, in literature, is 3 kg (of bees), you can put it in 5 frame box if it has enough ventilation holes and is about 5 cm higher than the frames you use, put in shade of cellar. It is too big for a hobbyist.
If you wish to use 5 frame box, here is my recepy:
- take 3 frames from honeybox full of bees
- shake the bees of 3 open brood frames (no queen!), use brush if there is a flow
- put in one pollen frame, sprinkle some water on it
wait 4 hours
make the grafts
put the transfered larvae in the middle of the box and the pollen frame nex to it
max 15 larvae (one frame with Nicot system)
one cell builder can take care of these, but no more