The Rose method of queen rearing

[Rosie]

Drumgerrrry, I often get asked that but I have never tried a partitioned box. However, I can't see it making much difference to the bees provided it's partitioned thoroughly, including the bottom rebate if you have a bottom bee space. If find though that two half boxes each comfortably hold 5 frames. I would guess that a partitioned box would be too big for 2 x 5 frames and too small for 2 x 6 frames. A couple of thickish dummy boards would probably fix that problem though. In addition there will be times when you will not need to disturb one half while working on the other but I doubt if that would matter much. One drawback with having 2 boxes is replacing them after working inside the bottom box. It's easy to get bees on the side of first box, making it fiddly to fit the second without hearing that familiar and ghastly crunch.

In addition, at the end of the season or when you have finished queen rearing you can remove the half boxes, complete with bees and brood, and you have 2 ready-made nucs if you have floors and roofs handy.

[drumgerry]

Ok so I've been going through my kit this afternoon with this in mind. I have two 6 frame wooden nucs both top bee space (don't use them as I just use poly nucs now). The two together are too wide but I can cut one down to a 4 frame nuc and then they'll fit side by side. I'm guessing top bee space nucs over bottom bee space brood box would be ok - in terms of there being no route over the top of the brood box frames to the nuc with grafts making the bees go the long way round over the top (if that makes sense!).

Thanks for the help Steve - much appreciated.

[drumgerry]

Oh and another thing that occurred to me as I've been studying your picture Steve - is it my imagination or is there no queen excluder on that hive?! It's maybe just one of those thin plastic ones perhaps?

[Rosie]

I use 2 half width zinc excluders and the bees treat the half boxes like supers until I put brood in one of them. It's important, of course, to continue with the use of excluders for the whole process to avoid the queen tearing down the queen cells when the sheet is removed.

As for using top bee space on the top with bottom on the bottom I see a couple of problems. One is that your frames might stick to the queen excluder and the other is that any brace comb on the bottom of the brood frame might stop you from putting it into the top box. I suspect it would be best to use a queen excluder with a frame on both sides and a central cross piece under the division board.

I use a couple of drone cell frames in all my brood boxes, by the way, and that reduces brace comb on the underside of the frames.

[drumgerry]

I could always add a 6mm baton to the bottom of the boxes and then have a central piece of timber to split my queen excluder into two sections. Not ideal but it'd do the job.

[Rosie]

Sounds good to me. Good luck.

[drumgerry]

Some pics of my set up to try out Steve's method this summer. Fingers crossed I'll have a better uptake than with a standard Harden set up. If I don't I'm sure it'll be down to me rather than the method Steve!

[drumgerry]

Meant to add I found a top bee space brood box in my kit - result!!

[Rosie]

Looks just about right to me drumgerry. Good luck. Let's hope it works well for you. Remember, if you need to add a super while it's it progress I always fit it turned 90 degrees to help bees travel from one half box to the other.

I am hoping to start my first lot off this week which is a lot earlier than I have managed to achieve in recent years.

[drumgerry]

Thanks Steve. I'm excited to try it and I'm sure it will work - it has logic on its side like most of the best things in beekeeping!

Looks like we're warming up at the end of this week so I'm hoping that's going to help. It's early for me as well this far north!

Not that it'll matter but I'm thinking if I use the 4 frame (rather than the 6 frame) nuc for the grafts they'll be packed in a bit tighter which again might help. Jon was only saying to me this afternoon on Facebook how high bee density is a good thing for having your grafts accepted. I'll report back with how things go and maybe post some more pics of the process. They might be of use to someone who wants to give it a try.