In article <[log in to unmask]>, Jim Moore DTN276-
9448 ogo1/e17 508-496-9448 <[log in to unmask]> writes
> I read in a book, sorry I can't remember which
>one, that Carnolian's will steal and egg to make a
>queen and that it is typically an Italian queen that is
>produced.
>
> What kind of bees were in the Nuc?
>
> Jim Moore
> moore@aiag,enet.dec.com
I have attached a reply which should prevent a lot of the same questions
being asked on the list. I hope that this adds some value to the
discussion.
In message <"mailhub.un.353:06.08.96.09.36.40"@uni-konstanz.de>,
Kirchner <[log in to unmask]> writes
<snip>
>Let me first ask some questions:
>
>Which race of bees are you keeping?
>What do the bees in the colony from which you took the workers for the nucs
>look like?
> Are they different in color or size from other colonies?
>Do you have a queen excluder in this colony? Have you ever seen worker brood
>above the queen excluder (long after
>introduction of the excluder)?
>Do you mark your queens? How old is the queen of that colony?
>Where is it coming from?
>Did you recognize a lot of supersedure during the past years?
>Any change in the tendency of the colonies to swarm ar to abscond?
<snip>
Wolfgang,
Thank you for your very prompt response. I shall try to answer your
questions as accurately as I can. I am not a scientist, however, so my
answers may appear a bit "wooly".
1. I have kept bees for about 4-5 years now and have acquired them
from a variety of sources. Initially this was from suppliers
such as Thornes and Steele & Brodie, but I have also collected
some swarms from neighbours gardens. Consequently, I expect that
my bees are a hybrid rather than any pure race. I have certainly
never tried to maintain a pure breeding stock and do not feel
that I have sufficient knowledge to determine one race from
another.
2. Could you be a bit more specific about what you mean? I do not
really understand what it is that you are asking me to describe.
I have to admit that I didn't follow the procedure for obtaining
nurse bees as closely as I might have done. I simply shook
frames of unsealed brood into a box (having made sure that I
didn't take the queen) and scooped them up with a cup and ladled
them into a mini-nuc. I tried to make sure that there were no
drones on the frames that I shook but I couldn't be certain. I
guess that this is sloppy procedure, eh?
3. Because I intended to stock a number of mini-nucs at the same
time, I went through about 5-6 colonies to get enough bees.
Whenever I thought that I had enough bees in the box to stock a
couple of mini-nucs, I ladled them in. Consequently, I cannot be
sure which colony the bees in this particular mini-nuc came
from.
4. Generally, the answer to your question is "yes", I do use queen
excluders. However, I had been having difficulty in getting
foundation drawn out in some of the supers so I left them off
one or two hives.
5. The only time that I can remember seeing brood above the queen
excluder is when I accidentally trapped the queen above the
excluder during an inspection. On subsequent inspections I have
always detected the eggs/brood and returned the queen to the
lower chamber where she belonged.
6. I make it a policy to always mark the queen whenever I can find
her. However, I would be lying if I said to you that all of my
queens were marked. That simply isn't true. At least two of my
colonies do not have marked queens because I have never been
able to find them. I have contented myself with knowing that
there was brood at all stages of development in the colony.
7. From what I have read, colonies that are headed by queens in
their second or third year are more likely to swarm.
Consequently, I have always tried to replace the queen during
its second year. In fact, I didn't want to have to buy-in any
more queens and that is why I was geering-up to produce my own
with the mini-nucs. Some of the colonies have queens that are
just coming to the end of their first year and some are a little
older. If you asked me to guarrantee that no colony had a queen
older than two years in it though, I could not do this (see 6
above).
8. I have not detected any evidence of supercedure/swarming (i.e.
queen cells) at all this year. That may be because I tried to
ensure that all of the colonies went into last winter with a
young mated queen. I have also made sure that they have had
plenty of space for expansion during the course of this year and
have given them plenty of foundation to draw out.
9. I am not aware of any swarming or absconding this year. However,
my apiary is in an orchard away from my home and it may have
occurred without my knowledge. Two hives did get blown over
earlier in the year but they didn't abscond. I set them back on
their stand and they have, more-or-less, recovered during this
summer. In previous years, I have not always been as diligent
about looking after my colonies because of time contraints (i.e.
assignments for my MBA) but this year, I have really tried to
take care of them properly.
It is the age of the queen cell that intrigues me. If my calculation is
correct then they must have developed the queen cell over the last 9-15
days. Now, unless I have done something stupid, I do not see where they
could have obtained a fertilised egg. I thought that workers were not
capable of laying fertilised eggs and could only become drone-layers.
Are you saying that workers from A.m capensis can produce fertilised
eggs? If this is so, how are we to be able to find the queen amongst all
of the other workers in a fully stocked hive in order to mark her?
I look forward to your reply,
- Paul -
--
Paul Walton
[log in to unmask]
Toddington, Bedfordshire, England.
Tel. +44 (0)1525 875570
--
Paul Walton
[log in to unmask]
Toddington, Bedfordshire, England.
Tel. +44 (0)1525 875570
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