Queen rearing pics

[drumgerry]

I wonder if people would be interested in uploading photos of all things queen rearing. Who knows - it might spark an interesting discussion!

I'll get the ball rolling with a couple of photos taken today of my apideas and a couple of kielers in situ. I just opened them up this morning having given them a QC each yesterday (due to hatch today/tonight)

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[Jon]

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Grafting session last Monday

[drumgerry]

Great stuff Jon!

[Jon]

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System for uniting two apideas.
The queenright one is on the bottom and the entrance hole in the mesh is blocked with fondant.
The top one is an apidea super.
The colony scent mingles through the mesh and the bees unite slowly via the food compartment in the bottom apidea.
The queen can't get into the food compartment so no chance of being suddenly overwhelmed by an influx of strange bees.

[drumgerry]

Looks like it might be worth investing in a few of the apidea supers and a few of the feeders in my quest for the holy grail of having a few queens available in Spring. I've got loads of stainless mesh so could easily make half a dozen of those screens and have a few stacks of apideas three high. How to work out the quantities of varroa treatments to give though....?

[Jon]

I made a load of floors from an 8 foot by 4 sheet of mesh and the off cuts were useful for wee jobs with apideas.
I prefer cutting my own excluders as well as the bees have about 20 slots to enter rather than just 3.

[fatshark]

Now you see them ...
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Now you don't ...
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Kielers out at the mating apiary this afternoon ... well hidden from full sun.

Working on the other hives the sound of drones cruising around was deafening.

[drumgerry]

Liking those stands Fatshark! Shame I have rubble just below the soil or I'd do something similar.

[fatshark]

Thanks Drumgerry ... built out of desperation as I've run out of hive stands this year! One piece of 2x2 from a For Sale sign (already used the Correx) hurriedly cut into three, made pointy and a platform crudely nailed on. They're in a very sheltered spot or would also need a strap to hold them all together.

[fatshark]

Just got these off the camera ... eight out of ten and a Ben Harden fat dummy with an integral feeder, followed by my (t)rusty hive barrow on the way back from the apiary from grafting.

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Don't worry ... there's nothing in the nucs