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Thread: Queen raising 2014

  1. #1
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    Default Queen raising 2014

    Few drones wandering around the brood frames this weekend / plenty more emerging - but not seen any flying as yet.

    I have my abelo double mating hive all painted up and ready to rock as well as 3 homemade efforts and a few nucs I can convert for mating hives.

    So.....when are people starting to graft etc ? Plans for the season ahead ? Tips ?

    Thought it was time for a fresh thread

  2. #2
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Early May's my preferred time, I could start now I suppose but there's no pressure on me to get queens mated extra early to fill gaps or make a little increase -that's what the overwintered mating nucs were for.

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    I have already made up nucs with three of the four queens I overwintered in apideas.
    Early May would be good. No point until there are masses of drones.
    Last year I had no mated queens until the end of June so hoping for a better start this year.

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    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    Too soon … the bees know best. Grafted on the last couple of days with poor 'take'. Given up until May …

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    It's early down here. one hive already artificially swarmed, drones out and about and a few colonies well advanced raising them. The colony I've AS I've removed the drone brood from for both IPM and it's just swarming too early for my liking so better to keep their drones reduced.

  6. #6

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    This year I'm going to trial getting queens mated in a four way mating nuc inside one standard box so that my frames are the same for all my boxes. Although I will run my apideas too so I can compare and contrast the success/failure!

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Good luck with that one Moo!
    I think it is easier to have the units separate.
    I was thinking of using my Paynes polyboxes as mating nucs with just a single brood frame in each.
    The frame would go against a wall with an insulated dummy on the other side.
    The advantage is having your mated queen on the correct size of frame, but a disadvantage would be the bulk of each unit.
    I think Gavin mentioned a system he uses which is a split box above a snelgrove board or something like that.

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    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by greengumbo View Post
    I have my abelo double mating hive all painted up and ready to rock as well as 3 homemade efforts and a few nucs I can convert for mating hives.
    Similar here, mini-plus and homemade efforts. We started these ones yesterday, they're smaller than our usual boxes -the result of having been given a load of very small floorboard offcuts from a warehouse renovation.

    SAM_3152.jpg

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    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I think it is easier to have the units separate.
    I quite like the double units myself but (going back to the OP) have found the mini-plus boxes work better as singles; they always seem a little too tight as doubles once they've been going for a while to my way of thinking.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I was thinking of using my Paynes polyboxes as mating nucs with just a single brood frame in each.
    I dont think the mesh floor would be good for returning virgins- too much opportunity for confusion IMHO.
    The crazy Finn posted a good idea on the other forum, cutting a poly brood box in two with a band saw and making up the side with insulation board. C Wynne Jones have poly brood boxes on offer this month, £18.11 + vat, 5 frame poly nucs for ~ £10 each plus a little work to make a lid and floor, and they'd be a much better mating unit than the paynes box with a gaping floor. I wish I had more time to implement this idea for myself, but its the wrong time of year for me to be starting a new construction project

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