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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:05:15 -0800
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> Presuming that the pupa was dead on insertion into the colony, I wonder if 
> queen cell providers routinely try to ensure that cells are viable at 
> point of delivery by candling the cells.

In our own case, we found that our own cells or cells from nearby neighbours 
typically did well, but cells purchased from a distance, even if they looked 
OK on arrival, were less successful.

We usually raised our own cells, but we did buy some on occasion and bought 
a very large number one time.   The temperature and transport conditions 
(personal delivery in coolers) in that last case were controlled within 
acceptable limits and monitored by hi/lo thermometers, but the success rate 
was not what we might have wished. We bought a smaller number twice from 500 
miles away which were delivered by a bus ride taking 24 hours, and found 
that they were less successful than we would have liked, but they did get 
cooled a bit by arrival.  See the link below which searches various diary 
notes on our experiences with cells and comments, if you like.

Some claim that cooling cells is not a problem, within a range and at later 
stages near emergence, but just slows development. , For that matter, cells 
often find it a little cooler than we might think, at night in mating nucs, 
and they turn out OK.  Some beekeepers apparently even delay and control 
emergence deliberately by manipulating temperature.  However that is not a 
particularly good thing IMO and just adds to a list of things that might go 
wrong along the way.  On the other hand, even what might seem to be slight 
overheating quickly becomes deadly.

One thing we did regularly to monitor quality and condition was to carefully 
twist open mature cells to take a glance at the queen.  When using JayZee 
BeeZee cell cups, which everyone was doing, the process was easy, as was 
pressing them back together.  If done right, and when the pupae were known 
to be in their less fragile states, the queens were unaffected by the 
inspection.  We also got a good look at how much excess royal jelly was left 
in the cup when  looking at queens near emergence.  We seldom found that 
there was nearly as much in purchased cells as we considered optimal in our 
own, and often, none!  That examination can be done with natural or wax cell 
cups, too, but the shear line is less pronounced and more care required.  Of 
course, candling is fast and easy and less likely to do harm.

Your question and associated ones have been discussed on the list 
previously, but I am not sure the questions were ever fully answered here. 
An archive search might turn up some useful discussions.  There are several 
experienced beekeepers posting recently here who have had more extensive 
experience than I with cells, and who might be willing to add to this, and 
correct me or add where appropriate.

allen
http://tinyurl.com/58n5sm
---
Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest 
motives.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891
 

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