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Thread: Position of Mating Nucs

  1. #41
    Senior Member Kate Atchley's Avatar
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    How important is it to put queen excluder across the entrance once she's laying? The wee Apidea ones are a squeeze for my bees and fairly sharp so I'm reluctant to use them. Could cut a few plastic ones?

  2. #42
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Cut a few of the bigger plastic ones as they do try and abscond.
    Once they decide to abscond, you need to get the queen out asap as they will keep trying irrespective of the excluder and I find they eventually kill the queen. Not sure why but you find the queen dead on the floor of the apidea.
    the other thing you can do for a few days is cage the queen and put the cage in the feed compartment.
    Last edited by Jon; 27-07-2014 at 09:02 PM. Reason: typo

  3. #43
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I know people who have had apideas chewed up by foxes or badgers so up on a post is safer.
    These have turned out to be prophetic words, wished I'd paid more attention sooner

  4. #44
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kate Atchley View Post
    How important is it to put queen excluder across the entrance once she's laying? The wee Apidea ones are a squeeze for my bees and fairly sharp so I'm reluctant to use them. Could cut a few plastic ones?
    I was wondering about this . A hive does not have a QE at the entrance so why do you use one on an apidea and when? I put one on my apidea with a few eggs and then decided to take it off. Once she has started laying is that the end of the mating flights?

  5. #45
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Apideas are very prone to absconding so better with the excluder on. Once you see eggs the queen will not leave on another mating flight.

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