First queens emerged 2015

[Jon]

I use a Brinsea Octagon20 incubator,the one shown in Gavin's link.
I usually move the cells into the incubator about 3 days before emergence date.

octagon-incubator-small-pic.jpg

I got mine for £120 including carriage on Amazon.
It is pretty much a no brainer to use an incubator as you can free up your cell finisher colonies for fresh cells by moving out cells to the incubator.
I know somone with two off them. He sets one at 34.5 for incubating cells and the other at 32c for holding the emerged virgin queens in rollers.

[Calum]

Hey Jon,
thanks for the tip, what is the accuracy on the thermostat?
The set temperature is only the average they attain, depending on the accuracy of the thermostat, it is cooling somewhat below that before it turns on, and heating above that before it turns off, or am i trying to make and exact science out of it....??

[mbc]

..it is cooling somewhat below that before it turns on, and heating above that before it turns off, ...?

Mimicking what the bees do themselves isn't it?

[Calum]

I use a Brinsea Octagon20 incubator,the one shown in Gavin's link.
I usually move the cells into the incubator about 3 days before emergence date.

octagon-incubator-small-pic.jpg

I got mine for £120 including carriage on Amazon.
It is pretty much a no brainer to use an incubator as you can free up your cell finisher colonies for fresh cells by moving out cells to the incubator.
I know somone with two off them. He sets one at 34.5 for incubating cells and the other at 32c for holding the emerged virgin queens in rollers.

Celle Institue writes:
"35°C & 50-70% humidity is needed for sucessful queen incubation."
Interestingly (they continue)
"Lower temperatures lead to a delay in emergance,
higher temperatures to an earlier emergance. By higher temperatures the first rear body segment will have a lighter drown pigmentation.
A large breastplate is a good indicator for good incubation conditions".

no mention of what the upper and lower limits might be (or acceptable deviation).

34,5 °C is the setting on the incubator, or the measurement of the themometer?

[Calum]

Mimicking what the bees do themselves isn't it?

Yes, it is, and there is variation I am sure there aswell depending on the colony strength/ weather //... how much? And how much is good?
The advantage of technology over nature is the ability to reduce variation, to improve the result (success-rate/vitality////) additionally to it being less hassle in an incubator than daily opening the hive...

[Jon]

You can set the incubator whatever temperature you want. It's a chicken egg incubator and they need a higher temperature. There is a screw which you turn to set the temperature. I reckon it is accurate to about a quarter of a degree which is more than enough accuracy. We have Arnia hive monitoring equipment in 4 hives at the association apiary. They keep the brood nest between 33.5 and 34.5. 35c is too high.

arnia-temperature2.jpg

[Jon]

arnia-temperature.jpg
One from last year

The incubator has two troughs in the base which you fill with water to keep the humidity high.

[Calum]

Hi Jon,
thanks, thats excellent data!
Are those AMM Carnies or Buckies? Are there any differences?
It would be really interesting to see an additional line regarding the outside temperature - to see what dips and preaks were external influinces, and what was the bees influence..
thanks
Calum

[Jon]

Those bees are Amm or near Amm. The temperature is recorded every 2 hours and the data is sent once per day to a data centre in Newcastle.
There is a weather station thingy which goes with the internal monitors but the data from it is too erratic to be any use.

[mbc]

20150531_131711.jpg