Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] Advice needed and maybe some brood

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Just Bee <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: "Starks, Walter" <Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu>
  • Cc: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Advice needed and maybe some brood
  • Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 14:35:32 -0400

Hi Walter,

I'm not familiar with any special Russian bee install, but hey these are bees
we are talking about. :-)

Id advise not to install any brood frames with eggs. If they are in need of a
queen then they may begin to make one from your new frame and that might add
to the new queen introduction issue. Best to play it safe and increase your
odds of success.

Check again for a queen that's in there but poorly mated. Just to be sure.

Don showed me a nice trick to install queens into difficult hives. To cut #8
wire cloth into a 6"x6" square with all four sides turned down. The sides are
about 3/4" long/deep. This makes for a real big introduction area.

He installed it over some food so the 3-4 tending bees inside this area with
her can help release her from her cage, but the entire hive can not access
her. Be sure to NOT hit this cage when reinstalling. Remove after a week.

Dying bees should not be to big a deal if they are being as lazy as you
describe. They get through the winter months just fine. It's the hard working
summer months that do them in.

See if your supplier has any special instructions. I'd still go back in
looking for a tiny queen first.

Good luck
Marty


Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 28, 2014, at 1:55 PM, "Starks, Walter"
<Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu> wrote:

> I caught a swarm on Apr 9th, but after nearly 3 weeks I still have no eggs
> or brood only 3 frames with a little unfinished comb (uncapped) and a bunch
> of bees doing a good imitation of couch potatoes. Since I haven't been able
> to find a queen and there isn't any brood I've ordered a Carniolan/Russian
> Hygenic queen from a supplier in CA that I hope to receive sometime in the
> next week.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with installing these queens? I know the
> pure Russian queens require special installations.
>
> Should I also plan to install some brood frames? I'm worried since I don't
> know how old the bees in the swarm were that they might all die before any
> eggs from the new queen can mature. I don't have another hive to get any
> brood from though.
>
> Any ideas? I would like to save this hive if possible.
> ______
>
> Walter
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> _________________________________________
> ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
> Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page