Jon

First check 2014

Rate this Entry
3 Comments
by
Jon
, 14-03-2014 at 12:15 PM (22492 Views)
The bees seem to have overwintered well.
I have ten colonies at my allotment in various polynuc and wooden box configurations.
Gavin Ramsay was able to cast his eye over them on Monday as he was in Belfast for the Ulster Beekeepers Conference at the weekend where we heard his presentations on bee communication and other topics.
Most will advise that it is far too early to check bees but I like to have a quick check around mid March to ensure that queens are laying and that they are laying worker brood rather than drone.
This involves opening the colony and quickly checking until brood is spotted. No need to look for queens.
I had a quick look in all of them and 9 are fine but one had a drone layer.
I saw the queen and will nip her when I have decided what to do with the colony.

Click image for larger version.  Name: drone laying queen small.jpg  Views: 67  Size: 95.8 KB  ID: 1962

A couple of the colonies have almost a box full of bees and the one I had earmarked as my main breeder queen had bees emerging on a frame I pulled so she has been laying for more than 3 weeks.
The drone layer is an a small nuc, just a couple of frames so I will likely just combine it with the nuc beside it. I have 4 spare queens in apideas but hardly worth risking one for such a small nuc colony.
If I don't come across any more drone laying queens i will save the extra ones for making up nucs in May when I should have plenty of bees and brood.

Submit "First check 2014" to Digg Submit "First check 2014" to del.icio.us Submit "First check 2014" to StumbleUpon Submit "First check 2014" to Google

Categories
Uncategorized

Comments

  1. gavin's Avatar
    And a great pleasure it was to see round, and meet the beekeepers of Ulster. You're encouraging me now to peek at the odd frame when we've a warm day. Drone layers, pah! Who'd have 'em.

    I was impressed by the diversity of Amm stocks you had there. Is it not better to raise queens from several rather than one main breeder queen?
  2. prakel's Avatar
    Gavin, I'd tend to agree -it was suggested to me a while back by a rather famous continental bee breeder that in the early years of build up I'd get far better results by rearing queens from (all of) the best 50% of my colonies and using their daughters to requeen the bottom 50% of colonies. Each year, reselecting the best half and raising daughters from all of them.
  3. Jon's Avatar
    My main problem is the drones in the mix which are produced by other colonies in the vicinity. The biggest problem is avoiding hybridisation. I need to start some II even if it is only to produce a few breeder queens every season.