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Thread: todays news

  1. #2951
    Senior Member prakel's Avatar
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    With the twin boxes it helps to have a removable division board, that way if one does go wrong they can be united -but allowed to keep using both doors. Divided later they tend to balance out OK but if they don't the entire box can be spun around.

    I do think that it pays to have them big enough to overwinter without any special faffing around -even if that means taking the division board out and uniting. Keeping the combs alive for splitting the following season (as Duncan) suits my needs better than having a stack of empty boxes to start from scratch each spring.

  2. #2952
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Some cracking posts here recently, thanks everyone. Delighted to see the chat between experienced queen rearers of such divergent backgrounds and bee types. I plan shifting this into a new thread under 'Queen rearing' when I've time.

    Here's a question. I received a (rather bashed) copy of 'Mating Biology of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)' today from NBB. Koeniger, Koeniger, Ellis and Connor, 2014. p50 'Weather and timing'

    'The minimum temperature for drone flight is around 18C (64F) while for queens it is about 20C (68F). Strong winds, cloudy skies and rain prevent mating flight activity. Warm days with blue or partly cloudy skies offer the optimal environment for honey bee mating activity.'

    Does that accord with folk's experience? I know this year we were watching the weather forecasts carefully, hoping for the odd day with semi-decent temperatures and little wind. Does anyone know is these limits apply to all types of bee?

  3. #2953
    Senior Member Kate Atchley's Avatar
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    If these temperatures and conditions apply to Amm it's a wonder ANY of our queens mated this year before September as the weather rarely if ever reached 20º. I saw a queen out on a recce flight on a gently cloudy day with temperature around 18º. Same conditions for mating itself I wonder?

    Good plan to relocate this dialogue, Boss. Never tire of rehearsing the nuc-filling scenarios etc etc. Some day it may all be second nature!
    Last edited by Kate Atchley; 19-11-2015 at 06:42 PM.

  4. #2954
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    C4U and Jolanta had decent queen mating too at times this summer and their stocks don't have a strong Amm component, so I'm just asking. My impression was that there may be little or no difference, but I don't know. Also wondering if the 20C thing isn't right for many bee types, so Duncan may have something to add too.

  5. #2955
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    BBP
    I do most of my queen rearing in the back garden where they,re handy. I found if I filled the apideas from brood frames and left for 5 mins a lot of the older bees left and what was left stuck around.

  6. #2956
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    I don't think those temperature minima can apply rigidly ... I've certainly had (local mongrel with a dash of Amm, 2nd generation perhaps) queens mated when the temperature were appreciably less than 20C. Drones also fly below 18C.

  7. #2957
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Drones will fly and queens can mate at 15c if they have to but higher temperatures are better.
    At 17-18c I see plenty of drone activity and mating flights if it is sunny and calm.

  8. #2958

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    Quote Originally Posted by nemphlar View Post
    BBP
    I do most of my queen rearing in the back garden where they,re handy. I found if I filled the apideas from brood frames and left for 5 mins a lot of the older bees left and what was left stuck around.
    I think that's right because you get the occasional one where a lot (sometimes most ) of bees go back home but usually they nearly all stay if you get them off of brood frames
    I have read about people getting them out of the supers but it never seemed right to me so I don't do it



    Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk

  9. #2959

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    I have read about people getting them out of the supers but it never seemed right to me so I don't do it
    Depends on when. The perfect bees for making packages or nuc filling are taken from the honey supers during a flow, when the correct age bees are up there drawing wax. However, what is often missed out is that they should be from at least 3 different hives, a mix of bees all shaken in together. This disorientates and confuses due to the scents etc being all over the place, and those bees accept cells virgins and mated queens better than those taken from a single colony....unless they are the same colony the cells or queens came from.

    Taken from the nest you get older guard bees and very young nurse bees, plus drones too.....not great if you are trying to at least partially control the mating.

  10. #2960

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    Quote Originally Posted by Calluna4u View Post
    Depends on when. The perfect bees for making packages or nuc filling are taken from the honey supers during a flow, when the correct age bees are up there drawing wax. However, what is often missed out is that they should be from at least 3 different hives, a mix of bees all shaken in together. This disorientates and confuses due to the scents etc being all over the place, and those bees accept cells virgins and mated queens better than those taken from a single colony....unless they are the same colony the cells or queens came from.

    Taken from the nest you get older guard bees and very young nurse bees, plus drones too.....not great if you are trying to at least partially control the mating.
    Hi C4u
    Almost every article about making up mating nucs will say its essential not to include drones
    I think that applies when you are taking your nuc to a remote mating station to be mated by the drones there
    For most folk though the mini nuc is staying in the home apiary so it doesn't matter
    Because they don't think about that folk get all worried about including a few stray drones for no reason

    Wax builders would be ideal as you say I would like to capture just those but I'm not organised enough for that

    Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk
    Last edited by The Drone Ranger; 20-11-2015 at 11:24 AM.

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