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If at first you don't succeed.........

6K views 66 replies 5 participants last post by  RonTgottagoat 
#1 ·
try, try again? Well I took a year off from getting bees last year. Two years before I bought my first hive but lost it and a couple more. Needless to say I was pretty dejected, disgusted even. Not with the bees but of my lack of success in keeping them. But I got the urge to try again. I have spent my spare time trying to learn as much as possible and feel that I am now a little better prepped to be a beekeeper I ordered two NUCS from a guy in north Florida who delivered them a week ago. I think I have learned where I went wrong the last time, after having had shb problems in my first hive I placed my next hives in a full sun spot, and think they might have absconded due to getting far too hot where they were Positioned
This time I have made a nice apiary area under a large pecan tree in my backyard. As I mentioned earlier I ordered and received two nucs last week and hives them in two 10 frame set ups adjacent one another with doors facing different directions. I also purchased a nurse bee nuc that he said should raise a queen from the frames that it has. So if that one is successful in raising a queen that would be three hives. I am intrigued by the possibility of raising new queens in this way, if it works. The guy said the best thing to do is leave them alone for about a month. I was thinking I would leave that nuc alone for 5 more weeks. Thinking that in total that nurse bee nuc would be here for six weeks and that would be enough time to raise/get queen mated and begin to lay. Would I see capped brood after this time? I have trouble seeing eggs in any frames, my eyesight is not the best and my reading glasses are difficult to work with in my vail s my regular vision is fine and my readers make that blurry, lol. Anyway I am excited to have some bees, I am learning I think also I forgot to mention these bees were raised foundationless and plan to continue on with this more natural method Wish me luck and hopefully I will have much to post in the future.
 
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#3 ·
I would check in week to 10 days. If no queen cells you have to add more brood. I would add brood even if queen cell is present if your other hives have plenty. If it takes a month for queen to mate and start laying and 3 weeks for those eggs to mature you have 7 weeks with no new bees.
 
#5 ·
So I opened up all 3 hives. Good news I think I saw some eggs in the new nuc. im thinking that since I've had the nuc for about 11 days that those are newly laid right? I didn't see a queen but I didn't want to stay in too long after seeing eggs I figured that's a good sign. Looked in the two queenrite hives and it was filling out so I moved the feeder up into a new box and put some empty frames in their as well. 96 oz frame feeder was empty in both hives. I need to make more syrup. Last batch was 2:1 should I keep this or drop down to 1:1 I don't plan on feedings indefinitely just trying to get them on solid footing
 
#9 ·
From egg to capped brood is 9 days. You can see the larva easily at 4 or 5 days. A little white maggot looking thing. They will be in every cell in that area of comb. Not one here or there. Put a frame of new or clean comb in the middle of brood in strong box. Mark it with something for easy retrieval. I put a penny on it. Come back in three days and move to queen less hive. There will be eggs of the correct age to make queen.
 
#12 ·
I spent the day with my dad making some wooden nuc boxes. We made 4 5 nucs frames from a sheet of plywoodi from plans I had found on the internet. I got em with two coats of primer on the outsides and plan to paint them tomorrow. I figure an extra box to raise a backup queen may be handy as well as using em for swarm boxes we also assembled another 10 frames I need to string em with monofilament. I'll take some pics and post em
 
#13 ·
Got my nuc boxes painted and finished set one up as a swarm box with starter frames a piece of burr comb. I took a sandwich bag and cut slits into it. Rolled up a paper towel soaked in lemon grass oil and placed it in the box. It may be too late for swarms but I got the box done. Also I made one of the boxes with two entrances and made a moveable divider. I had read about this guy starting new queens in two frame nuc boxes, so down the road I'd like to try that and since I bought a whole sheet of plywood I figured now would be the time to make a box set up that way
 
#16 ·
Also I opened em up filled the feeders and filled out the missing frames with frames with wax starter strips. Good thing I did as they were making comb on the top of the lower frames where there were no frames so that's fixed on both hives. I had got caught short frames Sunday. Also I opened up that 'queenless nuc' and I'm 99% sure I'm seeing eggs in adjacent cells and singles. There is also larva and capped drone brood and some flatter capped brood that looks like worker brood, fingers crossed I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing. Maybe I got a nuc with a queen after all. There were 3 queen cups on a frame but nothing in them so I'm not sure what that means.
 
#17 ·
A laying workers cells are capped like drone cells.
Also the bees from time to time will make little bowl shaped cells like starting queen cells. I have found normally they are empty.

:D Al
 
#18 ·
Two frame boxes are small. You want 2 good frames of bees and a frame with pollen and honey. I like 5 frame boxes and often put 4 frames in so I have some space to move frames with out damage to comb or me if I get bees upset. My frames often get wide and take up a lot of space. Your nucs are perfect for raising queens . I agree with alleyyooper that you might have laying worker. If you have a queen there should be a lot of brood by now. You could take frame from that hive and put in other hive brood for couple days to play it safe.
 
#19 ·
Ok so after thinking about it I decided to order another queen for that hive you thought might have laying workers. Just to be safe. It will be here next week. I didn’t want to take brood from the other hives yet as they are doing good but still new. Sometimes I’m not sure why’s best but.........
 
#21 ·
Not sure what kind of cage she will be in a Benton 3 hole or a JZBZ cage. Either one just remove the cork and place in the hive between a couple frames. Let the workers open the cage and release the queen.
Can take up to 5 days and maybe even 6 days.

Benton 3 hole cage.

JZBZ cage. All I use as it is far easier to get the queen in with out damageing her.


:D Al
 
#23 ·
If you put a frame in you would not be taking brood. You would be taking eggs. A hours time for the queen. The hive has little effort or time into that. Would not hurt at all. The problem is the time line it takes before you get any new bees. Even buying queen I would give them some eggs or brood. You are still looking at a month before you get bees
 
#24 ·
Ok I'd be ok taking one frame with eggs and trading it with that nuc? I am going out of town Saturday I will be back on Friday I was thinking by the time I'm back that woulbe 12 days since I added that box and hopefully I'd have an extra drawn comb or two and some fresh eggs from the other hives to use to trade round into the brood boxes to get the eggs etc. I ordered that queen earlier today she will ship on wendsday I should receive her by Friday or Saturday of next week at the latest. When I got back I was gonna look at all 3 and go from there maybe add brood and caged queen to that nuc to keep em going, hopefully my logistical timeline is ok.
 
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