Mats Andersson wrote

> What do you mean by "conditions are very bad"? Lack of space?

No.  By bad conditions I mean not a lot of nectar or pollen coming in.  I
know of beekeepers who have reared queen cells and put them in finishing
colonies under such conditions.  The bees, above the excluder, have pulled
the queen cells down.

In your case, if conditions are OK then this should not happen

> I have cut the cells open 17-18 days after the egg was laid. The queens
should be fully >developed and hatched by then, right?

Right.  I have seen under very cold conditions, queens not hatch till about
day 17.

> If someone could tell me how to avoid the comb buildup, i'd skip the
protectors and take
> the risk of an early queen ripping open the other cells. I have pretty
good control over
> hatching timing.

The post from Bland White is a good one about rearing queens, or not rearing
them on a honey flow.  I remember reading an article by Steve Taber about
not rearing queens on honey flows.

We occasionally get this build up of burr comb but I have found that if you
give them foundation plus an extra super, they will not build as much burr
comb.  It doesn't stop it but lessenes it.

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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