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:
Computer Software Solutions Ltd <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 23 Mar 1999 00:50:37 GMT
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (65 lines)
Hello All
 
Robert Landolfi wrote asking for information on the above subject.
 
There is an absolutely vast number of approaches to Queen Rearing. I
recently came across what I believe to be an elegant method called 'The
Hopkins System'. It dates from 1911 and was devised by a Mr I Hopkins from
New Zealand.
 
It consists of placing a frame of drawn comb which has NOT been used for
brood rearing, into the broodnest of the hive from which you wish to breed.
 
Remove the frame after four days, when it should be well filled with eggs
and just hatching larvae. Then select one side as the better side and
destroy the eggs on the other side. Then, starting at the top of the frame
on the better side, destroy two rows of eggs and leave the next row. Then
destroy the next two rows and leave the next row. Continue until you reach
the end of the frame.
 
Now start at the first column of cells (the vertical 'rows'), and do the
same, destroy two columns and leave the next one etc.
 
You will now end up with eggs over all or most of the surface of the comb
with about 12mm of empty space all around each of them. This prepared
surface is laid flatwise with cells facing down over the brood nest of a
queenless colony which you have designated as a cell builder. Some kind of
support is necessary to hold the comb far enough above the frame to leave
plenty of room for drawing large queen cells. A shallow super with grooves
cut in the end pieces to within 25mm of the bottom is a solution to this.
 
If all conditions are favourable you will secure a maximum number of cells.
It should be borne in mind that if too many queen cells are left to be
nurtured, that the resources of the cell building colony may be over taxed,
and you may end up with a great many mediocre queens. So I daresay the
message is do not go for too many cells. When the cells are ripe, a couple
of days before emergence, they can be removed with a very slight effort with
minimum or no damage, and placed in mating nucs or queenless colonies etc.
in the normal way.
 
I got a full write up on this system from Mr G W Hayes Jr, Branch Manager,
Dadant and Sons Inc., Wayland, Michigan, USA.
 
In my opinion, and this is elaborated on in the write up, the Hopkins System
offers many advantages to a beginner like myself, not the least of which are
that it is not necessary to find the breeder queen, or get involved with
tricky grafting procedures, or extra paraphernalia. I am going to try it out
this year.
 
Sincerely
 
Tom Barrett
49 South Park
Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
 
Hobbyist beekeeper
 
e mail [log in to unmask]
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940
 
Latitude  53 Degrees 16' North
Longitude  6 Degrees  9' West of Greenwich

ATOM RSS1 RSS2