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Thread: Queen raising 2014

  1. #21
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    Hope no one objects to this being posted on the forum but I've just noticed this 'NB Cupkit' on introductory offer from Thornes @ £25.00 inc vat. Smaller than the old style but could well be good value for someone who wants to go down this road.

    This clever and very successful system encompasses every aspect of the process, achieving the benefits of grafting without the difficulties

    32 purple cell cups are placed in the back of the comb box which has previously been fixed in a brood comb, and the queen is put in the front of the cage under a queen excluder. As she is in full lay, she continues to lay eggs in the artificial cups. She can be released manually the next day.

    On the 4th days, very small, newly hatched larvae can be seen through the back of the cups, each in a pin-prick of royal jelly. Very easily, each cell cup is lifted off with a cell cup cap which passes onto a cell bar fitted with cell bar blocks. When the queen cells are sealed, hair roller cages can be slipped over, so that emerging virgins are contained. These cages can then be used for travelling and introduction.

    Each kit contains: 1 plastic comb box, 10 hair roller cages, 32 purple cell cups, 10 cell bar blocks, 10 cell cup caps and full instructions.

  2. #22
    Senior Member Bridget's Avatar
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    Yes I saw that too and wondered if anyone had tried it. Thought it might be a good "starter kit" for me to have a try at raising a few queens


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  3. #23
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    I have used the cup kit for a number of years. Initially you have to place it in the hive before the queen is introduced and I sprayed with a honey water solution for the bees to clean. Once it has been used a few times you don't need to do this. Sometimes the queen when placed in the cup kit will stop laying but if you leave it an extra day you will get eggs layed eventually. When I see the eggs I release the queen and leave for the eggs to hatch. I then transfer the one day old larvae to a cell raiser. I get a 70 -80% acceptance rate. You can also download Tom's Table from the BIBBA web site that gives you the timings when you have to do manipulations with the cup kit.

    Just noticed this is a smaller setup than the one I use

  4. #24
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    The acceptance rate is the key thing and I think this has more to do with the state of the colony where the larvae are introduced. I doubt if grafted larva or cupkit larvae make a lot of difference to acceptance rate.

  5. #25
    Senior Member busybeephilip's Avatar
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    That mini cupkit looks to be reasonably good value, I assume that the purple cups are just the same size as the brown ones. Does anyone know if the box (basic unit) can be bought on its own without the cell cages like the way the larger 110 cell box can be at http://www.buzzybeeshop.co.uk/styled...e14/index.html

    My eyes are getting bad and i dont need to rear 110 queens in one go

  6. #26
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    I took a queen out of a hive on Wednesday and grafted in a frame of larvae an hour later.
    Just checked and they have started about a dozen cells.
    I'll get those into Apideas tomorrow week.

  7. #27
    Senior Member busybeephilip's Avatar
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    Here is some pics of what I've been doing recently - making my style of apideas, each box holds 2 single frame nucs IMG_1741.jpg

    and just made 4 heather floors to try out from scrap wood, painted with old style cuprinol

    IMG_1740.jpg

    Here is one of the single frame nuc boxes
    IMG_1742.jpg

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I took a queen out of a hive on Wednesday and grafted in a frame of larvae an hour later.
    Just checked and they have started about a dozen cells.
    I'll get those into Apideas tomorrow week.
    Nice work Jon. I'm going to start mine in earnest. Drones flying now.

    Do you get apidea / mininuc frames drawn in a queenright colony beforehand or do the bees you fill the apideas get to work quickly ?

    I was thinking of just using starter strips.

  9. #29
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    I have loads of apidea frames with comb already drawn.
    I fumigate them over winter with acetic acid fumes to kill any nosema spores they might have.
    I don't see the point in starting from scratch every summer.
    I put a completely drawn frame nearest the feeder and the front two are cut back by half so the at the apidea can be filled via the floor.
    If you put in 3 drawn combs you can't fill the apidea properly.

    If you are starting from scratch a feeder full of 1:1 syrup gets the frames drawn out fairly quickly.

    I checked my cells yesterday evening and they were just on the point of being sealed and they look like decent sized cells as well.

  10. #30
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    The cup kit on the surface seems very simple and straightforward. However... I have tried several times but each time the queen lays up in a hopity skip pattern so all the plugs are avoided. Now no doubt this is all due to my errors but I ended up grafting out the Jenter into a cell starter box which to my dim head seemed a bit odd.

    KISS works for grafting as well as many other matters.

    PH

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