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Thread: Position of Mating Nucs

  1. #21
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Any time I have been daft enough to set an apidea out in the open it has absconded on the first hot day.

    It was September when i was at MM's apiary, the year of the Bibba conference so the season was pretty much over but the apideas we saw were 4 to a pallet.

  2. #22
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    Default Position of Mating Nucs

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Any time I have been daft enough to set an apidea out in the open it has absconded on the first hot day.

    It was September when i was at MM's apiary, the year of the Bibba conference so the season was pretty much over but the apideas we saw were 4 to a pallet.
    Last year was my first go with apideas, I set them out on top of hives, in the sun, I lost 75% of that batch. Put the next batch in the shade and none of them absconded.

    Put that down the beginners error.

  3. #23

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    So am I right in thinking Apideas on the ground isn't a bad thing? Where I have them the ground is a thin coat of grass and soil on top of pretty much solid rubble so putting in posts for them would be pretty hellish. Last year I had them sitting on top of breeze blocks but if they could just sit on the ground that would be easier.

  4. #24
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    They work fine at ground level but be careful with your back!

  5. #25

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    I have a spare double hive stand, just the right height for my back.
    At 5' long I'm thinking a pair of doubles at each end.
    Would this work?

  6. #26
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    The shade is the main thing and make sure there is a brick on top if they are somewhere the wind can catch them.
    We had the odd one blown off a stand at the mating apiary site.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Adam's Avatar
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    I had a few absconding last year - but not before - so maybe it was just a funny year! (I saw balling last year for the first time too).
    I have some roof tiles which I use - they cover most of a mini-nuc so might well shade it a bit. Jon, your observation about 'full sun and the bees will fly' is a good one to remember. However the shadiest place where I have kept mini-nucs is where they have mated very badly. Maybe it's just getting to know the location that works. (Back to ley lines and all that malarky??).

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Any time I have been daft enough to set an apidea out in the open it has absconded on the first hot day.

    It was September when i was at MM's apiary, the year of the Bibba conference so the season was pretty much over but the apideas we saw were 4 to a pallet.
    The hospitality of the GBBA knows no bounds; were you treated to a wee glass of the white wine produced locally? One coach party decided to go on to Killarney instead of returning to Dublin.

  9. #29
    Senior Member Kate Atchley's Avatar
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    How far from Apiary & brood mothers?

    I'm about to 'set' 15 mini nucs (Apideas) and have been reading lots of this useful advice ... what a fantastic resource!

    But I've found no discussion on where to place the nucs in relation to the brood mother hives/apiary. Are they best at a distance from the apiary, as well as a metre or so from one another, ideally? There's lots of space up here ... oh, and useful shade too.

    I may as well be fussy about the detail
    Last edited by Kate Atchley; 02-06-2013 at 12:39 PM. Reason: typos

  10. #30

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    One aspect of nuc. location that seems to me to be important, but often is ignored, is keep the nuc. well away from the flight lines of the full size hives. One of the best things to have between nucs and hives is distance. It will help stop v. queens being swept away when out for a flight.

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