Page 3 of 7 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 67

Thread: Setting up a cellraiser

  1. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    639

    Default

    I tried the John Harding system too but I preferred my own. I'll try to separate out a snippet from the unpublished magazine article which explains it.

  2. #22
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    639

    Default

    2-queen hive.jpg
    2-queen hive built with 6 half sized National brood boxes

    As can be seen from the picture the hive is made with 6 half-sized brood boxes below standard National supers. The bottom four boxes form two adjacent towers, each containing 10 brood frames and a queen. Each tower has its own entrance and half sized queen excluder on the top so that the queens can never come into contact with one another. Above the queen excluders are another 2 half size brood boxes running at 90 degrees to the lower ones, thus allowing the workers to mix freely. Above these are as many supers as are necessary.

    The method I used for raising queens was to put a frame of young brood and another of pollen from below a queen excluder into one of the top brood boxes and amongst the honey and nectar that was already there. After a day, when the brood was covered in nurse bees, a thin sheet of plastic film, cut from an animal feed bag, was slipped beneath the top brood box containing the young brood and a grafting frame was put between the young brood and the pollen. This meant that the bees in there were cut off from much of the queen pheromone from below but the bees could still access the box freely by climbing over the top from the adjacent box. After another day the grafts were inserted and two days later the plastic film was removed to make the arrangement fully queenright again. Any time after the cells are sealed the whole procedure can probably be repeated in the other box. With careful timing a set of cells can, in theory, be produced every week or so without significantly affecting honey production and without having to handle queenless bees. Furthermore the queen cells are probably produced by the supersedure impulse which, hopefully, will produce better queens.

    Rosie

  3. #23
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    Ben harden sounds simpler if you can get it to work. I presume you still have to do weekly inspections for queen cells in the bottom stacks.
    the queens in the Ben harden system are produced under supersedure impulse.

  4. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Clyde valley
    Posts
    259

    Default

    E the last attempt with 12 out 20 grafts is unknown territory for me, dont know if it was the single brood bursting with bees or my first go with 00 paint brush grafting tool

  5. #25
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    I also use the paintbrush. If you remove a queen from a strong hive it is dead easy but you have the problem of managing a queenless colony and all that entails. I definitely prefer queenright systems although if I have a colony which wants to swarm i split it or remove the queen and run a couple of batches of grafts through it.

  6. #26
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Clyde valley
    Posts
    259

    Default

    When I said a single full of bees I meant this was the position just prior to putting the B H box on top and putting the grafts in, it does seem to work.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    Ok. Got it. I play it by ear an use any colonies which are thinking about swarming as cell raisers as well.
    The queenright system works for me most of the time.

  8. #28
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    639

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Ben harden sounds simpler if you can get it to work. I presume you still have to do weekly inspections for queen cells in the bottom stacks.
    the queens in the Ben harden system are produced under supersedure impulse.
    I didn't bother inspecting last season and had no problems but this blood line are reluctant swarmers and even reluctant queen cell drawers too - hence the double queen system to overcrowd them even more. I plan to try the system with a normal, more prolific colony this year but for them I will only use one queen in a normal, single national. I just need to plonk 2 half size nucs on top of the queen excluder and off I go. What can be simpler than that?

    Rosie

  9. #29
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    If you can trust your bees not to make cells in the bottom box that is simple all right.
    The two queens I grafted off last year did not make any queen cells.
    The main colony I want to graft from this year has a queen into her 3rd season now and it has never made a queen cell and has a 100% amm plot based on a large sample of about 80 wings.
    You might just have been unlucky when you tried the Ben Harden system as you do get batches of 20 grafts which are completely ignored for some reason.

  10. #30
    Senior Member EmsE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Longbenton
    Posts
    404
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Emse. there are several variables. You need strong colonies. You need drones. you need decent weather, and you need something decent to graft from.
    Assuming you have all that, do you wait for the bees to begin to raise queen cells before beginning your queen rearing or do you start things before they they do?

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •