Large scale queen rearers are perhaps more worried about volume and turnover than other factors.Looks like we are in agreement. I wasn't questioning the motives. I assumed that this was volume trade and that fast turnaround was of the essence.Originally Posted by Calluna4u
Re. the customer, don't most of these arrive at UK resellers such as Paynes before being posted on to the final purchasers?
Prakel, I use my miniplus hives as double units, I like the tall narrow, warm space each side has for establishing the little colonies, and I like the economy of mating two queens simultaneously from the one box. Each box averaged slightly over six queens for me last year, and it wasnt a good season. You are right that its a tight fit, I shaved a smidgen off each hoffman end on the frames to make the boxes easier to work, also I like to make narrower, easier to defend, entrances by cutting a quarter inch trench in the blocks for the entrances. They're easier to block up and load on the trailer this way without fiddling with different bits, the landing pad is unnecessary. Using them as as single unit would be a little expensive in resources, space and initial cost for me, and no real advantage over a full size frame nuc, I can appreciate why you'd want to move to full size frame nucs in preference to mini pluses if you cannot get on with them as doubles.
I see why they might be a bit of a fiddle when you're working on a large scale Calluna4u, but when I'm only doing a few hundred queens the fiddling and flexibility is quite fun, a failed side is usually shaken out, entrance blocked and left as a single until splitting again on the next round of cells. I look forward to my queen rearing days as light relief from the heavier work, I would probably feel differently if I was employing someone to do the fiddling.
Kate, turn the box 90* and loosely block the entrances with a blob of fondant when turning a one into a two with the mini pluses, if the open brood in the halves is balanced well then it works fine and both halves get a portion of foragers.
Using the mp's as single units, as I believe the other brand is designed to be, still gives an advantage in economy at about half the size of a 5 frame bs nuc. My own thinking has been (and still is) developing for some time and is entirely specific to my own needs at present but after ten years with mini-plus boxes I'd still rate them as a highly efficient unit which are a real pleasure to use.
Did she get introduced ?
The introduction was screwed up the purchaser let me know, can't remember the details.
Pity, after all that time in the cage.
What a good idea mbc. Worth trying, for sure.
I've made some four frame nucs to take miniplus frames along the same lines as the ones PeteL showed photos of on the beeforum, if i rememer rightly his are half national size and similar in design to what Mike Coller uses, I particularly liked the half milk bottle feeder on the end, it takes a while to knock them together though so I'm not convinced I'm saving much when £30 gets me a lyson mini plus that will mate two queens.
Queen cells are easy to produce in abundance at the right time so its always places to place them thats the limiting factor for me.
I get nearly 6 Kielers for that money........you should all be putting your heads together and not having your wallet burgled.
Also......for the Polish product that is a high price......even for only a trial order of 20 I am getting the real German ones for way less than that........
Old hobby horse of mines, but your associations need to give themselves a serious shake and get into group purchase. Like herding cats though......folk have huge individualism here and an almost emotional attachment to their own (usually in truth inconsequential) variant on just about everything. Said to be the most fragmented market in the world for hive types and variants.........so you all have to pay pay pay.
...lol......says the man who keeps the old wooden Smith unit due to it being what his father started with and was brought up with........its my roots and would be very difficult for me emotionally to sell. We all have our weak points.....
What I see is that many associations have a guy who is the de factor supplier of kit to the new and established beekeepers, often at very high prices.
Problem is, not many members can be bothered to take the initiative and order polynucs etc through the association for distribution to the rest.
My BKA ordered a pallet of Paynes nucs and a few cases of Apideas last year so members were able to get them at a reasonable price.
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