SBA Queen raising workshop

[Jon]

Gavin, that could work well.
This year I have roped in beekeepers with about 50 mating nucs between them and I am raising the queen cells to put in them. (see blog entry)
People are really keen on this if they are helped out at the start and you can see the enthusiasm grow when they get their first queen mated in an Apidea
It also helps if you have a couple of sites where queens can be mated with reliable drones.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time showing people how to fill Apideas with bees if you go down this route.
It's good to pool resources as the cheapest I have seen an Apidea is £18. The Warnholz cost £11.

[gavin]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yes, definitely need a drone mating site and I'll have some time to go looking for one during the first week in August (hint, hint, Alvearium). I wouldn't have thought about using the Cupkit system Jim, but I do see the advantage for a quick mass-production of Q cells which would be ideal for association events.

Jon - who supplies Apideas at £18? I have some Awards for All funds to spend ....

G.

[Jon]

Jon - who supplies Apideas at £18? I have some Awards for All funds to spend ....

G.

Buzzy Bee shop

I bought 1 swi bine to try it out but they are cheap tat, imho.

You don't need to buy spare frames either if you can use a Stanley Knife to cut a piece of correx to the right length and width.