BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 13 Aug 2011 06:55:24 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (21 lines)
Looking over what has been written so far on this subject, I read my own words:
> I agree with Martin, total waste of time. I have to wonder why you have surplus virgin queens in the first place

I don't believe I clarified this very well. What I was attempting to say was that the ideal introducing method for queens is in the cell. Once they are out of the cell, they are much more trouble. Hence, we discarded cells if they were not used because there were more cells coming the following day, and had no use for VQs. 

Years later, working at the Dyce Lab, I was taught how to introduce virgins. We did this because we wanted the queens marked before they were put in. These queens were emerged in an incubator. Care was taken to separate them from the queen cell as quickly as possible because hungry VQs tend to crawl back into the cells and get stuck. 

Once emerged they could would be put in cages with candy, no attendants. Once all of them were hatched, they were marked and put into introducing cages, and placed into prepared nucs. The acceptance was nearly one hundred percent. But as you see, the VQs were not held for long, one day maximum. 

I would still recommend only using queen cells, and having more than one actually needs. These can be candled to assure that they contain live queens. But there again, there is no right way to these practices. If you read "Laidlaw and Eckert" you realize that there at least as many methods as beekeepers, probably more. 

PLB

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm

ATOM RSS1 RSS2